parianocafeneio

Sabtu, 02 Maret 2013

Called it

It should come as no surprise that Luke Ravenstahl's decision to not run again for Mayor of Pittsburgh is not even the least bit bittersweet for me, but unlike some comments on the intertubes, I don't believe this is all about some possible fallout from the police investigation (more like the last straw). I do believe Ravenstahl when he said yesterday that he'd been thinking about not running for a long time. And, I called it a year and half ago here:

The Thrill is Gone

Larry Roberts/Post-Gazette
Pittsburgh Mayor Luke Ravenstahl at the
opening of the new Beechview supermarket

John Heller/Post-Gazette
Ravenstahl "listens" to East Enders' flooding concerns

You almost have to feel sorry for the guy. Now in his 30s, he's lost his "youngest mayor" news worthiness. He can't get away with the hijinks of his earlier years of stalking Tiger Woods or joyriding in a Homeland Security vehicle. At odds with the majority of Council, he can't deliver City assets to his bankster friends or even help oust his critics in that body. And, while he always had a problem with showing up/staying at important meetings (including those with the President), he can't even manage to be at the right place at the right time when natural disasters hit our region.

Just look at those pictures.

Is that the face of a happy camper?

And, even as the thrill may be gone for him, it's also gone for the voters. With a 19% approval rating, he's no longer Pittsburgh's Favorite Grandson.

But, Lil Mayor Luke still has over two years to serve in his current term. Maybe he should just do himself -- and all of us -- a big favor and pull a Palin. Say you're doing it for ~~your family~~ for Pittsburgh and just go.

Too soon?

Somewhere in an alternate universe:
(Via Bram via Facebook)

Jumat, 01 Maret 2013

Jack Kelly UPDATE!!

Hey, remember this blog post?

It's the blog post where I quote Jack as writing this:

At the time they met with President Barack Obama on 9/11/2012, Defense Secretary Leon Panetta and Gen. Martin Dempsey, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, knew it was terrorists who were attacking our consulate in Benghazi, Libya, Mr. Panetta testified Feb. 7.

Their pre-scheduled meeting in the Oval Office took place about 90 minutes after the attack began. The president "left it up to them" whether to respond, Mr. Panetta told the Senate Intelligence Committee. The fighting would last for six hours more, but neither he nor Gen. Dempsey heard from the president again that night, Mr. Panetta said.

And I wrote:

Note the word "whether" after the quotation. And note the quotation for that matter. Now you'd think that in a newspaper (even if it is only an "opinion" column found in that newspaper) when a Secretary of Defense is quoted the writer gets the quotation right - or at least it's close enough not to be misleading.

By phrasing it the way he does, Jack leaves his audience with the impression that the President left the decision to respond up to Panetta and Gen. Dempsey. This is false.

Well guess what?

[This is where you'd say, "What?"]

Guess what I found at the P-G this evening?

[This is where you'd say "What?" again, only slightly annoyed.]

Take a guess what I found? GUESS!

[This is where you'd say, "If you don't tell me right now, I'm gonna break your arm!"]

Ok, ok - Sheesh! Might wanna lay off the espresso, (or maybe try some decaf). Anyway, here's what I found at the Post-Gazette this evening:

This article has been revised to reflect the following correction: Defense Secretary Leon Panetta told the Senate Intelligence Committee that President Obama had "directed both myself and [Gen. Martin Dempsey, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff] to do everything we needed to do to try to protect lives there" when told of the attack on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi, Libya. A Jack Kelly column published Sunday said Mr. Panetta had testified that the president had "left it up to them" whether to respond.

You're welcome.

Now if I can only get them to do this BEFORE Jack's columns are published.