Happy Holiday!?

According to the Americans for Tax Reform Foundation and the Center for Fiscal Accountability, August 19th was Cost of Government Day.

In 2010, Cost of Government Day falls on August 19. That means working people must toil 231 days out of the year just to meet all costs imposed by government. In other words, the cost of government consumes 63.41 percent of national income.

“Two years ago Americans worked until July 16 to pay for the cost of government: all federal, state and local government spending and regulatory costs.  That government was too expensive and wasteful.  Two years later, we work until August 19 for the same bloated government.  We have lost an additional full month of our income to pay the cost of government in just the last two years,” said Grover Norquist, president of Americans for Tax Reform.

At this rate, Cost of Government Day will fall after Labor Day in no time.

Time it right and it could be a 5 day weekend.

Party On!!

Finally!

With all the talk these days about racism and reverse racism, racists and reverse racists, and all sorts of reverse refudiation (amen, Chad)- FINALLY, the answer to the question....

"Are you a Racist? "

Ahh.. sweet sweet closure.

July 8, 2010- JACKPOT!!!

• 2 Words- Table Games. HIP, HIP, HOORAY!! First of all, when is the great Commonwealth going to learn to get something done all at once, rather than in a half-assed piecemeal fashion? I mean, is there a single person who thought that our casinos could survive on slots alone? How about, just once, Pennsylvania leads the way instead of waiting for other states to show the way. Next, what's with Rivers and Meadows being packed at 6AM? Didn't anyone have a job to go to? I guess unemployment is why they were all jackpot hunting. Finally- does anyone find it a little fishy that the state lottery system went down for a half-a-day? Just wonderin'.
• Biggest Winner-O-the-Day (Local Division)- Michael Lanese. With the luck Ol' Mike had today, it's a too bad he wasn't at the casino. Long story short- Mike leaves his 9 year-old twins to clean guns, and lo and behold, one ends up shooting the other in the head. Then, father-of-the-year runs away to Vietnam to escape prosecution. Luckily, he landed in the courtroom of Judge Jill ""The damage here is done and it's not repairable." Rangos, who sentenced Mikey to time served. The really interesting piece will be if this 49 year-old grandmother from Homewood draws the good Judge Rangos for her trial. All the classic matchups here- man v. woman, Mt Lebanon v. Homewood, etc.  September 18 - October 18 2008 clearly not a good month for kids in Pittsburgh.
• Biggest Jackpot Loser-O-the-Day (Universe Division)- All of Us. LeBron James to Miami. Please (insert deity of choice here)- let there be more than five more years of this droning. Pleeeease.

www.bushfans.com

Think About It....

Have you ever seen them together?

Just sayin'.

Sen. Robert Byrd, D-WV (1917-2010)

From Wikipedia:

According to Byrd, a Klan official told him, "You have a talent for leadership, Bob... The country needs young men like you in the leadership of the nation." Byrd later recalled, "suddenly lights flashed in my mind! Someone important had recognized my abilities! I was only 23 or 24 years old, and the thought of a political career had never really hit me. But strike me that night, it did."[8] Byrd held the titles Kleagle (recruiter) and Exalted Cyclops.[8]

From The Daily Caller:

Deceased U.S. Sen. Robert Byrd will be remembered by lots of things: His love for dogs and hyperbole, his ability to funnel federal dollars into make-work jobs in his native West Virginia, his loathing of balanced budgets and the fact that he skillfully conned several generations of Appalachian woodhicks into voting for him, over and over again, for almost six decades.

From Smash Mouth Politics:

“We don’t need to speak ill of the dead, but if we are honest, we must acknowledge there is little if anything to be proud of in Senator Byrd’s long senate legacy. To his credit, however, he never killed a campaign worker while driving drunk over a bridge or joined another senator in making a waitress sandwich. His personal and family life seem to have been relatively decent for a Democrat senator.”

From Walmart.com :

To the Specialist 8)

Let's Go Pens, Let's Go Pens, Let's Go Pens

Finally, the madness is over......  Pirates put pierogi back in the race

"The employee has been rehired because he was not terminated in accordance with company [human resources] procedures," Brian Warecki, the team's communications director, said in an e-mail Tuesday night. "While his conduct was in violation of our company policy (and many other companies), it was not subject to termination at this time."

It's good to see that being so bold as to state the blatantly  obvious in public is not subject to termination "at this time".

Mr. Kurtz, 24, who was in his second year as one of the team's mascots, was dismissed Thursday evening, hours after posting a message on his Facebook page that said the contract extensions the Pirates gave to general manager Neal Huntington and manager John Russell would mean another losing season.

He said he apologized to Dan Millar, the team's mascot coordinator, but he was still fired from the $25-a-night job.

Just a question- how many mascots is enough? Could the answer be... "WHEN YOU HAVE SO MANY THAT YOU NEED TO EMPLOY AN EFFING MASCOT COORDINATOR ?!!!"

"When they (HR and Senior Management) were made aware of the improper termination on Friday evening, they conducted an investigation into the firing. Upon learning the facts of the case and determining that he should not have been fired, [management] contacted the employee Saturday morning to offer him his job back, and he accepted."

If there's one thing I've learned from my years of life experience, it's everything comes up sunny once HR gets involved.

Mr. Kurtz said the resulting publicity from his dismissal was "overwhelming," and that he didn't tell anyone that he'd been rehired because he wanted to leave that in the hands of the Pirates.

And, naturally, the Succos PR machine lets its mess continue to fester another halfa week. Any press is good press, ya know.

Unfortunately, reinstating  Kurtz means that  perhaps the only job Ross Ohlendorf could perform consistently is gone.

Ohlendorf retired Texas' first 10 batters, pounding his sinker under plenty of swings and misses. But the Rangers have come about their 42-28 record honestly, and they looked far more comfortable second time through the order and chased him with two outs in the fifth.

His line: Four runs, five hits and home runs by Michael Young and Julio Borbon.

His record: 0-6, winless in 15 starts since Aug. 18, 2009.

His ERA: 5.43.

Have no fear, though. Ohlendorf has a handle on it-

"It's frustrating," Ohlendorf said. "I need to pitch a lot better than I have been."

October 7th can't come soon enough.

There's an App for That

I wonder if they let him finish before they beat the crap out of him.

Let's Go Bucs! Lets Go Bucs!

Who says the Pirates front office doesn't know what they're doing?

After each race, the Pirates post on the scoreboard the "standings" numbering the wins recorded by each pierogi. According to Mr. Kurtz, the races are not, in fact, always fixed. 

"They try to keep it close," he said. "They don't want a pierogi to fall too far behind. So if Jalapeno Hannah is two, three games behind, they kind of want her to win, so they pick the fastest runner out of the four runners that are racing that night and give Hannah to that one."

Must be how they put together the rotation, too.

Random Randomosity

• Maybe the Islamists in Somalia aren't all bad:  Somali militants threaten World Cup TV viewers

"We are warning all the youth of Somalia not to dare watch these World Cup matches. It is a waste of money and time and they will not benefit anything or get any experience by watching mad men jumping up and down," he said.

Clearly that guy has never sat through a few hours at PNC Park 

• First they're not fit for the Stanley Cup, now...  Report: Most Philadelphians Not Fit For Military

A nonprofit group says that up to 90 percent of young Philadelphians are ineligible for military service because of criminal records, obesity or lack of education.

Put skates on 'em. They'd all fit right in with the Flyers

• At this point, don't you think an attorney is just a waste?  Van der Sloot attorney quits 

He is in a high-security area of the prison where only two of 10 cells are occupied, and he has no contact with inmates in the general prison population.

He is under guard 24 hours a day, authorities said.

The only other inmate in the area is alleged Colombian hit man Hugo Trujillo Ospina. The two have spent some time together in a common area where there is a television set and weights made of out of broomsticks and soda bottles, authorities said.

It occurs to me- Joran Van der Sloot: cold blooded killer or just really bad date?

• Hey McDonalds... Chocolate. Milk. Shake. Had I wanted whipped cream and a cherry, I'm almost  sure I would have ordered a Mc-Effing- sundae.

****************************************************************************
Just for fun... captions for the photo anyone?

Holy @#$%

Hundimiento por socavación del agua en la Zona 2 de la Ciudad de Guatemala. Fotos: Paulo Raquec

The latest from the Tunnel to Nowhere ?  The Pirates new pipeline to Central America? Part of  BP's latest solution?


No, apparently, just what happened after Tropical Storm Agatha met Guatemala City.


WOW.

In Remembrance

“True heroism is remarkably sober, very undramatic. It is not the urge to surpass all others at whatever cost, but the urge to serve others at whatever cost.”- Arthur Ashe

Want A Lick? PSYCH!!!

Here's wonderin' if today's Battle of The Mexican War Streets was a carryover from the Great Pittsburgh Ice Cream Giveaway of 2010 .

But if it was, here's hopin' those charged were on Chief Jones' team.  Assault and Disorderly Conduct aren't the same DUI and Burglary, but I'm sure the DA's minions can get a jaywalking ticket to stick.

$13,001,848,302,154

From US Debt Clock.org via Drudge

• US National Debt-   $13,001,848,302,154

• Debt per Citizen-     $42,028

• Debt per Taxpayer- $117,998

• Debt to GDP Ratio-  90.35093%

Now, for perspective, from brittanica.com

Damn, can't get a trillion to fit, but 13 TRILLION???

Let Me Get This Straight....

So, it seems that this morning, at 3:57 AM, an armed assault team went a-shoppin' for Home Electronics at an East Hills apartment. From the PG:

A 13-year-old East Hills boy told police he was awakened early today by four armed men who pistol-whipped and beat him to unconsciousness and tied him up before stealing a car and electronics equipment.

Four armed men beating and pistol-whipping a 13 year-old? Outrageous! 

The youth, whose name was not given, was sleeping in his residence in the 2300 block of Park Hill Drive when, at about 3:57 a.m., he was awakened by a man wearing a ski mask and brandishing a handgun. The suspect, who was accompanied by three others, one of whom had a shotgun, put the weapon in the youth's face and told him to get up. He was forced into the living room, pistol-whipped and struck in the back of the head, causing him to black out. 

 The victim reported that when he regained consciousness he was lying on the couch with his hands bound behind his back. He complained that the bindings were cutting off his circulation so the actors cut him free. The victim told police the suspects dragged him from the home to a wooded area and continued to kick and beat him and then, using keys stolen from the victim's home, fled in a tan 1993 Ford Crown Victoria towards Penn Hills.

So, four guys break into an apartment at 3:57 AM in search of loot. Hey, it happens. They happen upon a resident. Again, it happens. Then, they pistol-whip this kid till he blacks-out. Huh? They tie him up but, apparently, the bindings are too tight and they cut the kid free after he wakes up and complains. Whaaaat? Then they drag this little innocent into the woods and beat him some more.

The victim went back into his home and called his sister who lives two blocks away on Park Hill Drive. She went to the youth's home, took him back to her house, and called 911.

The sister told police other items taken from the home included a PS3 game, laptop computer, and cell phone.

OK, that's enough.

• A 13 year old is awakened, at gunpoint at 3:57 AM. Not "around 4". Not "it was really late". Not even "Gee, officer, I'm not sure what time it was, what with I was sleeping and all. Not to mention the fact that there was a gun in my face when I awoke." But 3:57 AM.
• I'm  not going to go into a rant about the state of the nuclear family unit in American society, but no mention of parent (natural or foster), a guardian or, dare I say, an ADULT in the apartment at 3:57 AM? Musta been that George Bush so screwed the economy that the caregiver for this 13 year old was working a third job at that time of the morning. Ya know, just to make ends meet.
• The youngster then calls sis (again- parent? guardian?) who picks the kid up and takes him back to her place. Sis gives the cops an inventory of what was stolen. The kid didn't see?

I just can't wait for the rest of this story to come out.


Check out WPXI's video here. Pay special attention to the "friend of the victim" who "was outside with friends" (doesn't anybody sleep in this neighborhood?) when he saw the bloody kid looking for help:

 Hmmm, red bandana and red do-rag. Seems to me, back in the day.....

The Voice is Silenced

RIP

Ronnie James Dio

(1942-2010)

Ronnie James Dio dies at 67; legendary heavy metal singer

Ronnie James Dio, a legendary heavy metal singer who replaced Ozzy Osbourne in Black Sabbath and also was lead singer for the bands Rainbow and Dio, has died. He was 67.

 Dio died Sunday, according to a statement on his website by Wendy Dio, his wife and manager. Maureen O'Connor, a Los Angeles publicist, said Dio died in Los Angeles. No cause was given, but Dio had said last summer that he was suffering from stomach cancer.

Justice Ain't Blind, It's Cross-Eyed

On April 20, 2010, Schuylkill County President Judge William E. Baldwin:

• Sentenced Nancy J. Kane for a DUI. Kane, 41, has to serve 30 days to six months in prison under the terms of Baldwin's sentence, which the judge made effective at 9 a.m. April 25.He also sentenced her to pay costs, $800 in fines, a $100 SAEF payment and $60 restitution to Schuylkill Medical Center-South Jackson Street.
  Kane pleaded guilty on Feb. 25 to DUI, driving an unregistered vehicle and improper turning movements, which Schuylkill Haven borough police had charged her with committing on April 4, 2009, in the borough.
• Another defendant, David A. Bevan, 50, of Auburn, will spend 48 hours to six months in prison, pay costs, a $750 fine, a $100 SAEF payment, $60 restitution to Schuylkill Medical Center-South Jackson Street and a $194.58 bench warrant fee under the terms of Baldwin's sentence, which the judge made effective at 6 p.m. today.
  Bevan pleaded guilty on Feb. 25 to DUI, which state police at Schuylkill Haven charged him with committing on Sept. 6, 2008.
• In another April 22 hearing, David C. Kemmerer, 47, of Barnesville, will spend 60 months in the intermediate punishment program, which combines supervision and treatment, under the terms of Baldwin's sentence.
  Kemmerer pleaded guilty on Feb. 25 to DUI, driving under suspension-DUI related, careless driving and seat belt violation, which state police at Frackville charged him with committing on March 5, 2009.
  Kemmerer also must pay costs, $3,535 in fines and a $300 SAEF payment and perform 40 hours community service under the terms of Baldwin's sentence.

It's probably a good thing a certain city fire captain was arrested in  the City of Champions rather than Barnesville.

For pleading guilty to two DUIs, Allegheny County Common Pleas Judge Beth Lazzara sentenced him to 
"a week on house arrest" as well as "serve nine months of probation, pay $1,500 in fines, attend safe driving classes and pay court costs."

In return for pleading guilty, prosecutors  dropped several other charges. With minimal effort, those additional charges can be found online. Interesting reading.

"You, sir, have a position as a role model in the community. Little kids look up to you," Lazzara said. "A guilty plea to two DUIs is certainly not living up to that."

Is it any surprise there seems to be a we're-teflon, can't-touch-this mentality within the ranks of the city payroll?

Oh yeah, obviously the captain is a safer drinker than he is a driver. Hope the classes help.

Check out the Pittsburgh Comet for a related story.

Mr. Ben-isan Goes To Tokyo

• Just for giggles, what do you think the caption says?
• Why didn't someone tell me there's scammers on the web? Seriously, check this out for some laughs. The Trophy Room is hilarious
• I wonder if the Ambassador has the new Eminem on his I-pod.

"F**k that, I'd rather turn this club into a bar room brawl.
Get as rowdy as Roethlisberger in a bathroom stall"

•  Pens and Canadiens in Round 2. F-Ovechkin. It says here he never gets his name on the Cup (nice photoshop)
• OBLIGATORY PIRATES NOTE AHEAD: The Buccos stretched their win streak to TWO yesterday. They beat the Brewers,1-0, in Milwaukee no less. And took 14 innings to do it. Just a note to those who say each game is just 1 game, that winning by one or losing by 20 aside, it's just 1 game: 9-12 (W/L) is not the same as 78-155. Take a look at those numbers... 78 Runs Scored, 155 Runs Against. Now, say you're in a fight. You punch the other guy in the face 9 times and he gets 12 shots in on you. Next day, same guy, you get in 78 to his 155. Still think the numbers are the same?
• How far wrong has an interview gone when "Is your Mom a prostitute?" seems like the next logical question?

"My job is to find out as much information as possible about a player that I'm considering drafting. Sometimes that leads to asking in-depth questions,"

WTF

UPDATE

The latest Big Ben news...

Time For Goodbye

I always knew that the day would come when it would be time to step back and away from the keyboard and, as Chuck Noll would say, get on with my life's work. I guess I just never thought it would come so soon. After all, it was just about a year ago that I started this little cyber-journey. It's amazing, looking back through past posts, just how little has changed.

The beginning of the end came the other day as I was checking my e-mails.

From the Sports Desk

Lost among the Roethlisberger fiasco and the Draft Day festivities...

Read the whole incredible story here.

While I'm Thinking About It...

• First, obviously, Ben Roethlisberger: I am absolutely astounded at the number of people out there who were surprised that Big Ben got a suspension for his antics. Personally, I wouldn't have objected to a season off for the idiot. I also believe that any "stern talking to" he was going to receive was given after the alleged Nevada incident. (Side note- remember all the interviews, news conferences, denials, etc, after Lake Tahoe? Pretty silent this time, huh?)

I also think that a suspension, by the Steelers at least, became inevitable right after the "Don't make me
come over there" call came from Dublin.

And to the "it's just not fair, he wasn't convicted of anything" crowd- Nowhere in anything that I've read,
have I seen that the dumbass was suspended for rape, assault , or any other crime. He's not going to jail,
just getting some time off from work. Think about your job. I'm betting you could probably be suspended
for violating policy without being convicted, right? Also, how 'bout this simple exercise- take a couple of
minutes to read this, only substitute Tom Brady, Carson Palmer, or Peyton Manning wherever you read
Ben Roethlisberger. How do you feel about suspension now?

All of this is not to say he should or will be traded. Floating his name during Draft Week, I think hope was
just the final piece in "Message.Sent." Trading him just doesn't make good sense. I don't think that moral
high ground will mean much in December when the team needs an MIT professor to explain what needs
to happen to get a Wild Card berth.