Go Mayor! Go!

Kudos to the Mayor for getting in the faces of the local press.  They deserved every word!

I’m sorry, with a small amount of exception our local press had digressed to that of The National Enquirer paparazzi.  Maybe they should all get together and start a new media business called The National Inquisitor (and go back to using a torture rack to obtain the news).

Come on folks, Pittsburgh basically started the news business with KDKA … let’s try to not put it into historical oblivion from complete digression due to greed for ratings.

I’m mean geez …. making up the story of him running off the Mardi Gras.  I have a feeling the media has more beads around it’s neck than the Mayor does.

As for the Mayor, if he was telling the truth (I don’t get to talk to the guy first hand) I applaud him (even in leu of any other mistakes he has made) for trying to be proactive.  Maybe he was seen as not doing that at first, but if he is learning that quality that is more important than anything.

No job demands 24/7 access to any human’s life (even the President of The United States) gets private time – so if the media here thinks they are that privileged then that means they also condone the Communistic Marxist attitude toward no privacy at all for anyone.  Put’s things into perspective, doesn’t it?

Nothing like sensationalism to kill a perfectly legitimate industry.

Us bloggers are out here just waiting to take your journalism jobs  – considering the public takes us more seriously than the professional media now, those jobs may not be too far from our taking.

Click Here for a link to The Pittsburgh Channel’s Video of Mayor Luke.

-SWB

PS – When reporting anything to the public, besides humor keeping you feet planted on this planet is somewhat of a requirement.

BTW Mayor … may the force be with you (sorry, just couldn’t resist even in a rant post).

Ford Retools The Industry For The Future

While two of the three American automotive biggies are bumbling around begging for cash from bailout packages, the third one that actually created the mass-produced auto industry in this country, Ford, may be the one to successfully recreate it.

Why?

Because they have enough sense to listen to what the industry wants – not to what the oil companies want them to sell to support a secondary industry.

Ford has announced (as seen in this article on KDKA and in CBS News Interactive) it will be retooling it’s old Michigan truck plant to make current in-demand compact and electric cars. Amazing … someone listened to something less than ten cylinders. During and after the retooling over three thousand jobs will be created, and maybe one good American brand car will also emerge.

Personally, I’ll admit to owning a Honda. That’s because after 200,000 miles, I’m still just changing oil and doing maintenance to their specs. When I owned an American car, I was a regular at auto parts stores … now I can’t remember where anything is in one. That is the kind of experience an American should have in an American car. That is what really makes you proud of a product made in your country by your fellow citizens. Maybe with the kind of listening capabilities Ford is showing towards it’s customers we will finally get to that experience.

Do you think there is a possibility the other two auto gurus (GM and Chrysler should consider taking some classes from Ford) may actually get it, too?

-SWB

PS – We’re offering Ford a primary “Kudos” award for listening to it’s public and acknowledging they are smart enough to know what they want and also for Ford doing it’s best to recover on it’s own. Let’s see where they take it.

Kudos to Dom DeLuise for years of laughter

We’d like to thank and give kudos to Dom DeLuise for bringing us years and years of laughter and continuing to do so until his death Monday May 4th, 2009.

Dom, a very talented man, was an actor, producer, chef, and more. Born in Brooklyn, he brought the hard working but adorable side of comedy to the screen in a way we will never forget. With cookbooks, kids writings, movies and more … Dom’s spirit will stay with us for years as we remember him for the “nice guy” he really was.

Click Here for his death announcement on KDKA’s website.

-SWB

PS – We’ll miss you Dom, the movie world won’t be the same without you.

Clearing the room at the U.N.

So, what do you do when you want to clear the room at an U.N. anti-racism meeting?

You make blunt racist remarks.

Ahmadinejad is back in the news, obviously. He accused Israel of being cruel and racist (and a few other things I won’t mention here). The U.N. chief said that basically the Iranian leader used the opportunity to incite hatred and break Israel apart. If you want to check out the article as in appears on KDKA, Click Here. Now, some of the remarks said (there will be enough articles, in addition to the KDKA one mentioned here – so read them) are comparable to me as a white man going to a anti-racism meeting in Pittsburgh and saying all black people are lower class because of the way they were brought up. Ahmadinejad’s U.N. speech should be a multiple-day newsworthy tidbit, so keep watching, SWB is sure it will get better.

It’s amazing how so few people can bring back into the world what so many are trying to get rid of.

Click Here for another blogger’s perspective.

-SWB

PS – Everyone has a right to their opinion (no matter how twisted) … but as a leader of a country, don’t you think you’d want to be a tad more tactful?

Time for a brownout – courtesy of spies like us

What could be worse for American than an invasion from China or Russia? Having them shut off the electricity to your TV.

Click Here for an article found on KDKA.  It gets into minor details about Chinese and Russian spies (along with others) being able to hack into and map out our electrical grid, at least partially.  The information comes from former National Security officials.  It is interesting reading, so check it out.

-SWB

PS – This highlights other security issues on the internet … not just our electrical grid.

Richard Poplawski – an issue that needs dealt with

More on the issue:

Three officers unnecessarily died due to an idiot with issues. Do I know he had issues – yes. How? Let’s see: 1. He was walking around at 1am in ony his pajama pants, 2. The PFA against him from a former girlfriend, 3. His stating to multiple people that he was distressed about losing his job, 4.The fact that he was worried about Obama taking away guns, 5. He began stockpiling guns after being kicked out of the marines because he thought the police could no longer protect us with hte bd economy. Well, all he did on the last point was give Obama more firepower to take away guns even to those very responsible. After shooting officers, Poplawski held off officers from get to their wounded – even enemies in a way don’t go that low. His Mother is now actually threatening the Post-Gazette with a lawsuit if they don’t stop reporting.

The Pittsburgh Police and Swat team showed an amount of restraint not seen anywhere. Consider the amount of well placed snipers and good shots they probably had on the incident that did not open fire when Poplawski finally gave up and was brought out. All of these officers, not just he ones that died, need to be commended and decorated as fully as possible.

With everyone else involved with Poplawski – did anyone bother to speak up – except on he news shots?? Think about it – where I grew up, if I did anything remotely like what was mentioned about Poplawski (walking at 1 am in my PJ pants), I would have been soon greeted by a police officer in a car asking me it if I needed help (or taking me home and telling my family I needed help). Am I blaming the community? No, but I am noting that we have gone to a lifestyle of too much about the individual, and not enough about the community we live it. Staying out of people’s business is good – but ignoring dangerous buildups in the community is worse than not being liked for showing concern. Family ignores family now too … this isn’t a good thing.

Is there a possibility that Poplawski asked for help and it was ignored? … sure. He was out of a job, so that means the possibility of not having medical coverage for mental health issues (which he obviously had many) – and if he confided in friends, there is the issue of those friends just not wanting to deal with it.

Here links to current articles for a complete overview:

The Post-Gazette article by Jon Smitz

KDKA Channel 2 Pitsburgh

WTAE Channel 4 Pittsburgh (more info on Richard P)

On The Officers from The Tribune-Review

Do the following if you can:

• Pray for all of the families involved (even the Poplawski’s – how would you feel if your family name was all over the news associated with something this intense).
• Drop few flowers at a police station in memory of the officers.
• Get to know your community again and actually listen to the people in it.
• Leave all involved families alone.
• Let the police and the courts sort this one out – they have proven they can handle this by the restraint they showed on the scene. If to many rumors and false info’s get created, it could harm the outcome of the situation greatly allowing those officer’s deaths to be in vain.

-SWB

PS – “Self” isn’t everything … which is the issues that really needs to be dealt with.

** All comments are welcome for information sharing – anything hateful or potentially untrue will not be approved.

It’s A Nutty World Out There

As the FDA is always clueless and confused (sometimes with the government helping it along) … it allowed more nuts out there again.  SWB is wondering who paid them off this time to allow things to pass through … or what funds the government passed making them cut needed inspectors.  Well the latest “oops” was reported by Kraft foods when it detected salmonella in pistachios.   Again, they came from in or near California which has had some issues in the past few years with contaminated food (and mixed of imported contaminated food).

Well, SWB hopes you hated pistachios … because you can’t eat ’em anymore.

… and the full “clueless and confused” award goes to the FDA and our government for missing another issue.

Anyways …. Click Here for a good article on the current status of pistachios by The Associated Press ad appearing on the KDKA website.

-SWB

PS – If terrorists are as smart as they appear they are becoming … they will just sit, sip wine, and wait for us to poison ourselves as we trust the FDA to actually inspect food.  And people wonder why gardening and home hydroponics re thriving.  Go figure, right?  Maybe Granny wasn’t so stupid growing and bottling her own stuff.

Rooneys In The White House

On the more positive note, it’s looking more and more like Mr. Rooney (Steelers owner – just in case you are reading this blog from a cave in some far removed mountains and don’t know who Dan Rooney is) will become envoy to Ireland.

Personally I think he deserves it, as he has already worked hard via the American Ireland Fund in a way to promote peace in Ireland.

Click Here for a good reference article from the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette on Dan.

*UPDATE* – Confirmation about Dan Rooney’s nomination here in this KDKA article.

-SWB

PS – Go Dan Go! We can’t even make fun of Mr. Rooney … he’s too good of a guy.