Thursday, September 1, 2011

Thursday: Department of Innovation Department


62%! Wow! A large number, m-hay! (P-G, Joe Smydo)

Acceptance of this calculation is going to turn on a point such as why the state settled on the figure 50% as being determinative of "severe distress" to begin with. Was it arbitrary? Did it seem like a good round number, or what? Had to draw a line somewhere?

MORE FRETTING: Null Space

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Township commissioner D. Raja (R-Mt. Lebanon) thinks a Department of Innovation is the kind of thing for which we all might clamor. (joinraja.com)

County Council President Rich Fitzgerald (D-East End Pittsburgh) responds to this news by painting Raja as a failure, a phony, a liar and vaguely absurd. (P-G, Timothy McNulty)

NOTE TO RAJA: You might want to try critiquing your opponent's record on Allegheny County Council. Call it a random neuron.

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New poll: 65% of Pennsylvanians favor the natural gas industry; 23% are opposed to it. (PoliticsPA)

Whatever that question is -- and it's admittedly a different question than, "Are you opposed to drilling in your city, the one that is dense and noisy already?" -- much like the Civic Science survey it should give people a certain amount of pause just to see those numbers. Not everyone is out there all, "It's the People vs. the Corporations!" People like their royalties and signing bonuses and idea of jobs and economic activity. To not take that into account is to appear as something of a weirdo.

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Do you count yourself as still confused over what happened in Bloomfield involving gay activists, City police officers and at least some anarchists? Me, too!

In addition to a City Paper article on that incident and a follow-up Slag Heap blog post, blogger Thomas C. Waters was there in the flesh. He has published many ruminations already, which in turn have garnered many comments. The first of five personal dispatches from the rally is right here; his latest, a report on some follow-up with the City is here. Lots to digest in between.

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4 comments:

  1. I don't understand the pension thing or what happened in Bloomfield. It was only just now that I figured out the homophobes walked out of a place called the Pleasure Bar. This town can't even do homosexual innuendo right.

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  2. As was always the case with Council's pension plan, it really comes down to whether the state is willing to suspend disbelief. And I hope they are!

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  3. Should have done the Lease deal. STILL should do the Lease deal (although it would be impossible to get such sweet terms as we once got).

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  4. One time I found a dead mouse when I removed the furnace filter. Now, every time I change the filter, I flinch a bit when I remove the filter. There's never been another dead mouse back there, but still I can't stop myself from picturing the little guy's body.

    While the pension fund isn't the same thing as my furnace, I can't read a news report about it without wondering how far we have to remove the cover before we see cold little pink feet sticking out.

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