Our prediction on the McNeilly/Regan situation - Acting city Solicitor George Specter will resign or retire, Ravenstahl will continue to blame the O'Connor administration and the city will settle with McNeilly prompting her to retire immediately afterwards.
The Ravenstahl puppetmasterers will easily sacrifice one lawyer to keep their golden Pinnochio bright, shiny and electable.
Our hope is that since KDKA and the Post-Gazette tenaciously continues to follow this story, the public won't let Opie get away with it. He's knee deep in the funk of politics as usual.
Ohhhh ... in a nice courtroom twist, a federal judge granted a preliminary injunction to Commander McNeilly reinstating her to the rank of Commander. You'll recall all the glorious details when Commander McNeilly blew the whistle on the nefarious goings on of Dennis Regan the political hack driver who would be Public Safety Director. Thanks to McNeilly's release of documents indicating that Regan had used his political power to help out the policeman brother of his girlfriend, Mayor Ravenstahl was forced to launch an investigation and Regan resigned.
I think Cathy McNeilly is a mighty grand woman who did what had to be done for the best interest of the city. I think Mayor Ravenstahl threw his lot in with the devil when he kept Regan around and can't wipe that stank off fast enough. No amount of mucking about with the Redd Up crew is going to help with that, Luke. Especially under oath in a federal trial. With the ACLU on the same side as a Pittsburgh police officer. Woo hoo ... we can't make this shit up.
And I live in McNeilly's neck of the woods, Zone 1 so I am especially happy to have her back on deck. We need some kick-ass, take no shit from anyone women around here.
Seriously, this is a good thing for city employees who shouldn't have to feel that the law protecting whistleblowers doesn't apply to them just to feed Luke Ravenstahl's boy-who-would-be-king mania. Given all the smoke, proverbial and Marlboro alike, that's being blown around City Hall, its amazing anyone has the lung power to pucker up and whistle. More power to 'em.
In another stunning effort to spin negative publicity, City Councilwoman Darlene Harris claims that she did not order a smoke eater machine to de-stuffify her office. Ms. Harris simply wanted some box fans and now she is outraged, outraged I tell you, that someone mistakenly spent $1200 on the smoke eater.
"I wanted a little square box" with a ventilation fan, she said. Gesturing at the 2-foot-by-4-foot Trion Eliminator Series SE 800E mounted in the ceiling above her desk, she said, "When I came in and saw that thing, I couldn't believe it."
Harris, along with Student Body President Doug Shields, was featured in a recent Post-Gazette article about illicit smoking in the City-County Building. Both admitted that they smoke in spite of a smoke prohibition rule going back before our new county-wide ban. Neither seemed the least bit penitent which doesn't bode well for them to follow the new law.
To summarize thus far, Harris has completely missed the point that this is about SMOKING not a smoke eating machine. Her umbrage is matched only by her ridiculousness. Not only is she refusing to take responsibility for breaking the law, but she's now pointing fingers at her political enemies whoever they may be:
She said she has asked Public Works Director Guy Costa why the device was ordered and installed when she only wanted a ceiling fan.
"I'm still trying to find that out, and I don't know if I ever will," she said. "I'd like to know, is this politics, or what?"
Yes, Darlene, it is politics at its most sad when an elected city leader openly violates the law because she's too lazy/proud/arrogant to go outside like the rest of the city employees. It is politics at its lowest when an elected city leader shifts responsibility for her own stupid choices onto the shoulders of said city employees. Public Works gets enough guff without having to ante up for your mistakes.
It is politics at its most disgusting when an elected city leader assumes we are foolish enough to be distracted from her illegal activities by other issues.
Ms. Harris said she has occasionally smoked in the office on nights when she was working late. She said she's been working hard to get more plainclothes police in North Side neighborhoods, catalog abandoned houses, identify drug and prostitution hot spots and write legislation to govern absentee landlords.
Let me get this straight --- according to her logic, if we want a more lawful community, she's going to have to break a few laws. If we want healthier communities for our families and children, she's going to have to compromise the health of her staffers and others who visit the building. If we want absentee landlords to take responsibility for their property, she's going to need the freedom to place responsibility on others.
She should have left well enough alone after the last article. Doug Shields came off like a giggling schoolboy with a big man-crush on Luke, but that's nothing to the political harridan that is Darlene Harris.
Back in March, we reported on the West Virigina Sheriff who denied CPR to a dying gay man under the pretext that the man was HIV+. The man, Claude Greene, died later that evening at a local hospital. Greene's friend was present at the scene but was physically prevented from performing CPR by Robert K. Bowman, Sheriff of Welch, West Virginia. Greene's mother filed a federal lawsuit claiming her son's civil rights had been violated along with a myriad of other chages, including a violation under the Americans with Disabilities Act.
Significant issues remain to be sorted out in this litigation, but at this initial stage, Faber's ruling permits the case to go forward on the basis that the estate may have a valid federal civil rights claim against the city and Bowman for the way in which Green was treated on the day of his fatal heart attack.
It is a complicated situation and far more legalistic than I can pretend to understand. Bowman's folks claimed that since Greene was dead, there was no reason for a civil rights case. Bowman's folks also seem to claim that he prevented bystanders from performing CPR out of concerns about HIV transmission. The federal judge noted that there is no record that performing CPR on an HIV+ person would present a transmission risk.
The bastard was willing to let the wrongful death move forward. Fortunately, the judge cleared the way for the whole kit and kaboodle.
Did I mention that Greene was not HIV+? Nope, he was just gay. And, thankfully, the idiot responsible for his death could pay the price for his bigotry and hate.
Sadly, Claude Greene has already paid the ultimate price for it.
The Correspondents (and the Lesbians) are long-time fans of Arnet for her great work on behalf of women and girls throughout the region, including women and girls in the queer community. As we are city residents, we are especially pleased that Arnet is turning her tremendous talent to the oversight of one of our most important resources - the public schools.
Lawmakers in Massachusetts are in the midst of a Constitutional Convention and a vote today paved the way for a constitutional amendment barring gay marriage to move forward. To make it onto the ballot, the amendment must pass in another legislative session.
You might recall the Massachusetts is the only state in which gay marriage is legal. Existing marriages would be intact, but no further marriages recognized. Ahem.
This has been a highly contentious issue of late with anti-marriage proponents insisting that legislative refusal to vote on the matter was undemocratic. Even the high court weighed in on the matter, chastising lawmakers for not voting while acknowledging that there was no way to compel a vote.
Since when have "the people" been the best-suited to determine civil rights issues for minorities? This is just bullshit back-of-the-bus politics that will decimate the existing rights of gays in Massachusetts to appease yet another interest group with more power.
The courts and the lawmakers completely wimped out on this matter. They have made it clear that the gay community cannot simply sit around and wait for those in power to recognize and honor our rights as citizens and human beings.
The PG ran an interesting commentary by Slate's William Saletan who contemplates the oft-cited but never actually proven claim that homosexuals are not fit parents.
The 30-year search for proof that gay parents are destructive looks a lot like the hunt for WMD.
Saletan uses the conception and pregnancy of Mary Cheney to illustrate his point that there's simply no proof that gays make bad parents. There's a lot of date however, that heterosexual men do a lot of damage to children than lesbians. If you want to rely on averages to make parenting decisions as in who should and should not parent.
If you're going to base family policy on averages, the chief problem isn't stepparents; it's men. That's what "pro-family" groups keep covering up. According to Focus on the Family, "increased risks of physical and sexual child abuse at the hands of non-biological parents are another serious concern for same-sex families." Nope, not for lesbians. The latest study the group cites actually concludes that the "key risk factors are living with a stepfather or the mother's boyfriend." Of 55 child deaths reviewed in the study, the number caused by a stepmother or by a biological mother in a stepfamily or live-in relationship was zero.
I don't think Mary's pregnancy warrants all this attention. The fact that she is a dyke is more than mitigated by the fact that she's the daughter of an incredibly rich and powerful white man. I'm sure she'll be able to raise a child of privilege in a manner befitting any other uptown chic. Now what would be interesting is if Heather were to be the biological parent b/c then Mary would have no legal relationship with their child (they live in Virginia). Regardless, Mary and Heather could spawn a dozen children between them and still have no clue of what life is like for the average homosexual parent. And as long as they support a President who embraces the wingnuts, they deserve no kudos for gay milestones.
Back to William's piece ...
You want to protect kids? Here's my proposed constitutional amendment: "Marriage in the United States shall consist of a union involving at least one woman."
Or you could just let Mary Cheney raise her child in peace.
It is always nice to get a little opinion-love from the fine folks down at the PG's editorial board. They did not fail me in detecting the wafting odor of business as usual hanging over the City-County Building like the mill smell that has so deeply permeated my father's pores its become part of his essence. And its just as corrosive.
As Post-Gazette reporters Rich Lord and Ann Belser discovered, the City-County Building, which has long been officially smoke-free, is a place where smoking bans are subjects of nods and winks and where the happy band of surreptitious smokers also includes some in top offices. Allegheny County police have no plans to enforce the ban on Grant Street, and so diehard smokers will continue to grasp their cigarettes like John Perzel hanging on to his chair.
Top offices would include the City Council President. I think Barbara Harris' dismissive attitude is condescending and arrogant, but I don't expect much from her but bluster. Doug Shields, on the other hand, is supposed to be one of the good guys. So why does he not care if his nasty little habit ferments malignant tumors in the lungs of his associates and constituents? I don't want cancer, Doug. I also don't want to breathe in your disgusting second-hand smoke or deal with its smell lingering in my clothing and hair. And I don't want the President of City Council to laughingly tell a reporter that he plans to break the law. Its embarrassing and pathetic.
The city employees that I know have told this sort of crap goes on all over the place --- any why the heck not? If Doug Shields can smoke in his office, why can't the minions who toil away in the backoffices?
I guess this just yet another way for Pittsburgh residents to clean up City Hall. Perhaps we take comfort that our Mayor isn't old enough to buy cigarettes ...
What is it about smoking that still seems cool to people in this day and age?
In a classic example of the good old boy (and girl) mentality that keeps dragging us to the backwaters, the Post-Gazette ran a little article about illicit smoking in the City-County Building. They refer to it as "surreptitious" but that's just fancy talk for sneaky.
Apparently, our elected officials are already breaking the rules on smoking INSIDE the building. Wink, wink, nudge, nudge ... all the kids are doing it giggles Student Body President Doug Shields.
"We're not allowed to smoke in the building, though I've been known to -- eh, heh heh -- in a closed room," said City Council President Doug Shields, an on-again, off-again smoker.
Is it just me or is Shields trying to sound ...cool? First, "eh, heh, heh" is just an incredibly creepy and disturbing quote for a grown man in an elected position of power and authority. Second, its nice that Shields has such respect for the health and welfare of all his employees, colleagues and the residents of Pittsburgh (and the county) that he would smoke in a closed room. Because we all know how effective that closed door is at preventing cancer. Finally, it sort of gives support to the claim that Shields is firmly wedged up the ass of the powers that be if he doesn't have the gonads to set a good example on SMOKING. What kind of leadership is that? A "fuck you, I'm hanging with the cool guys like Luke" type.
Our newest elected Councilwoman Darlene Harris' has solved the problem by spending tax payer dollars to purchase a smoke eating machine, the Trion Eliminator Series SE 800E. Its to keep the office from being so stuffy. Harris rationalizes that a long day in City Hall justifies breaking the rules b/c she's a hard working gal ...
Does she smoke in the office? "If I'm here until 10:30 at night, yeah, I'll have one," she said.
That's the kind of superior, self-satisfied Chesire Cat mentality you folks in our neighboring Northside communities have saddled yourselves with for the next term. Good luck with that.
Here's the best part --- Harris justifies the purchase b/c she took advantage of the county contract that got a better deal. The same county that passed the smoking ordinance paved the way for Harris to say "fuck you" to county residents in the City-County building. That's delicious irony.
County Council President Rich Fitzgerald does a nice job of passing the butt, er buck, on enforcement.
"I'm sure we're going to get all kinds of reports about people smoking," said County Council President Rich Fitzgerald. "It's not up to County Council to arrest people. It's up to people to follow the law."
Does that include elected people who get paid by tax dollars? Should they follow the law Rich? Will the PG article prompt you and Doug to call your members (and yourselves) to task on this bad behavior? Or will you continue to wallow in the delusion that shirking the law somehow adds to your allure?
Has the ascension of the boy who would be mayor dragged the entire city back to high school? Or has it merely brought to light that we've been there all along?
