Update: If the embed above isn't working, then try here. This is the New Acid Jazz Channel. I'm not sure about the future of the company behind the old Acid Channel, which you can find here. We'll check them out again in a few months. Anyway, here's a new company. You can also catch a widescreen version here. More legal update: This is actually more of a search engine (me plus the tech). All of these vids are available on the public youtubes (or have been publicly available) and such. Vids that are copyright violations are often taken down.

YOU CAN ALSO FIND ME CROSSPOSTING AS THE PITTSBURGH PROGRESSIVE EXAMINER
YOU CAN ALSO FIND ME CROSSPOSTING AS THE PITTSBURGH ATHEISM EXAMINER
YOU CAN ALSO FIND ME CROSSPOSTING AS THE ALLEGHENY COUNTY 2010 ELECTIONS EXAMINER

And

The 5/25 Third Party Plan and 5/25 plan here

July 21st

Jim Frank: Wilkinsburg Code Enforcement or sleazy 70s Mafia-style goon demanding payment "or else".

You know I can't say I have much respect for the Tea Party and their openly racist fellow travelers. But there is a kernel of truth to some of the arguments that they make against the evils of big government. I agree with McGovern that the only thing that can countervail Big Business is Big Government, although I would be interested in his opinion when Big Business essentially owns Big Government. I am horrified about the relationship that BP has with our current government. And that has to change.

However, there is some truth to the idea that government officials, pretty much with a casual malicious glee, can pretty much ruin your life if they decide to enforce rules that you've never heard of before or if you tell them that their interpretation of the law is wrong and that both contract law and settled state law overrides the Wilkinsburg ordinance.

I'll give you a personal story of how this works. Several months ago Wilkinsburg code enforcer Jim Frank had told me that I needed to cut the lawn. I told him that I was a renter and that cutting the lawn was my landlord's responsibility. I mean, I'll take out the garbage, clean up loose trash and in the winter I'll even remove the snow. But as a renter, for over 26 years even going back to college and through several towns, I've never had to cut the lawn and my current lease is very clear that lawn care isn't one of my responsibilities. I might also mention that I hadn't been approached about the lawn the previous several years that I had lived here, which makes me think that there might be some outside forces at work. (I've made enemies, powerful....) My money is on the rich landlord right across from me or it might be the black church...Who knows. I will destroy you all.

By the way, for all you legal beagles out there, landlord-tenant contracts are considered mostly contracts of adhesion. That's a fancy way of saying that as an average tenant that you don't have much say over the average landlord contract. You usually have to take it as is. What this also means is that if there's a laundry list of responsibilities within the lease agreement then that's all there is. The landlord can't later say "Oh, and I wanted him to cut the lawn as well..." The landlord gets one shot at the apple because they're considered the powerful person in this relationship. I'm also sure the code enforcement officer can't say it after several years especially as a Third Party without standing, and super especially after ignoring the problem for the previous three summers....

Now, and this was either Friday morning of last week or Monday morning of this week, he knocks on my door again. He gives me the same spiel and I tell him that I am within the law of my signed lease (and also, as I discovered later, well within the law of the state's Landlord Tenant Law, which trumps local ordinances, especially if they're in conflict and I'm talking to you Miss or Mrs. Wilkinsburg Borough Solicitor Pat McGrail...) and this is where it gets interesting. I don't mind him for doing his job. He certainly has a right to point out what the code is. What he doesn't get to do is play favorites or make it very clear that if I don't cut the lawn he's going to look for code violations in order to evict me. Now, I don't remember the exact sequence or words spoken in the next minute afterward but then he pointed out that he thought he was pretty sure that a cable going to the upstairs was a violation (what he didn't know is that it wasn't plugged in and that I've received no complaints from my landlord since moving here in 2007.). Then that devolved into we'll talk about this in a week. And then, after that, and I took this to be a threat he said, and I quote: "I'm going to getcha out of here."

So let's review. The penalty for not cutting my lawn is a citation and maybe a fine if I don't obey the citation. There's also penalties for having a cord run up to the upstairs. I don't know I guess I'll find out. I don't think there's anything in the Wilkinsburg book of code, that I have since browsed through and made some copies of, that declares that Wilkinsburg Code enforcer (much like Al Capone enforcer Frank Nitti) Jim Frank has the right to threaten and blackmail me with eviction if I don't cut my landlord's lawn, in accordance with the original intent of my own lease. I felt like that some poor shop owner being told about "consequences" and "We wouldn't want anything to 'appen to your nice military base now would we?" if I didn't pay the mob's protection money.

Well, Jim, I'm not paying you the racket money. I didn't run from the Klan and I don't run from the gang leader who lives four or five doors down from me. Take your best shot.

I'll see you in a court, probably as both a defendant and a plaintiff. I'm filing a criminal charge of extortion and blackmail against you in the next ten days. Civil claims will probably follow. I can write my own briefs. Sometimes I even win.

I'll see you in court. I'm also going to send this to the Wilkinsburg Solicitor tonight by way of her website.

Respectfully but without fear,

Philip Shropshire
www.threeriversonline.com

Related: Just for the record, there are some intelligent and law abiding solutions to the lawn problem, as opposed to blackmailing me with eviction if I don't cut my landlord's lawn or manicure her toes or whatever.

First, there's the perfectly legal one: Wilkinsburg can cut the grass and cite my landlord for the expenses and send her the bill, which is perfectly legal under state law. Yeah I know Jim said he couldn't find her even though I have her email address and phone number but tough luck. This is her property. I'm not liable for that BP spill, either.

Two, Wilkinsburg has a Weed and Seed program. I would have no problem if someone came over and cut stuff and planted pretty flowers, not only in the front, but also the backyard. I'm sure my landlord wouldn't mind, especially if it got her out of yet another fine and citation/arrest warrant. I'll email the coordinator right after having a chat with the DA about the wonderful tactics of Wilkinsburg Code Enforcer Jim Frank...

Three, or the city could just pay me a hundred bucks to cut the lawn twice a summer. (By the way, it would probably cost no more than 100 bucks, each time, to do that. Or I could find somebody through Craigslist. I might note that there have been almost a record number of demolitions in Wilkinsburg over the last three months. Each one costs, I believe, around 13 thousand dollars each at least--I'm guessing this is stimulus money. You would think they would have the money to cut the landlord's lawn...)

I know these are all civilized and imaginative solutions and not nearly as much fun as threatening to break my knees if I don't pay Fat Tony the weekly "tribute" money but that's just how I roll.

More Related: Just to end with this government thing: when you see government abuse by arrogant government officials for god's sake write about it. Bring their evil into the light of day. That's the one major weak link with "Evil Big Guvmint" types. You can at least vote these guys out, for now anyway. You'll never have a say over what multinationals like BP do.

uly 16

Just a few words and one incisive video about the late Harvey Pekar.

I just wanted to say a few words in passing about the very interesting Harvey Pekar, who passed away several days ago.

One: I don't think the autobiographical comic is for everyone. He spawned a lot of imitators who I thought were just way too young to do those kinds of autobiographical comics and proved that the boring daily routine of life was in fact that and wouldn't necessarily transform into something artistic just because it was illustrated by Robert Crumb.

Two: I also didn't share his hatred of genre. I always thought that superhero or speculative fiction could be just as interesting as realism. I remember in an interview that he had a problem with MAUS for those very reasons and I just thought that he had missed the point about what art was about. Hey, you can make the Germans into vicious dogs because the medium allows for that kind of interpretation. I might also note that Alan Moore, the world's greatest writer, has made great political statements by way of fiction. I mean, I don't see all those anonymous (scourage of scientology) posters wearing Harvey Pekar masks, although that would be disturbing as well.

Three: One of the things that I really liked about him personally--I felt so-so about his comics even though I bought many of them--is that he was definitely of the progressive, left of center kind of type. His last few books would be of interest to many arty progressive people. I have two of them and I'll probably go out and buy the Beats as a homage.

Here are the covers of those books:

I found this to be a pretty good history of this very radical group, the likes of which have not been seen for quite some time. That's probably because most of the people who go to college these days are from the ruling classes and they stay "radical" for about a semester or two. Its really a collection of personal histories 1 to 15 pages long told from the point of view of surviving organizers. You can sort of see the seeds of ACORN and other groups in how these students organized and what they fought for.

I also enjoyed this and who better to adapt the stories of the common everyday working stiff than Pekar

Harvey didn't write all of these portraits but I'll pick it up just the same.

Four: If you didn't go watch the movie based on Harvey's life or if you've never read his work and you had only one youtube video to distill the man down to his essence, then it would have to be this one:

Link:

Five: As always the best obituary roundup is by the Comic Book Reporter guy. That guy can't have a day job. Just can't. And to my surprise the Pittsburgh Post Gazette did a nice job with video commentary by Tony Norman and an obituary which features some commentary by Ed Piskor, who illustrated some of Harvey's stories.

June 27

The top seven anti-BP stock images that exist on the Internets. - Pittsburgh Progressive Examiner

www.examiner.com

There are a number of really striking images that have come out of the BP environmental disaster, probably the only good or creative thing to come out of that disaster. I have used some of the more entertaining ones--while commenting on Pittsburgh, state and national races-- here and here.

What should have been published June 18

ITEM: Another great EC artist died over the last week or so: The Great Al Williamson. He could do anything really and I particularly liked his lines in black and white. You just felt you were entering a lush fully realized alternate world, usually with barbarians and space ships somehow involved. As per usual, you can find the best roundups over at the Comic Reporter...how does that guy make a living? He seems to do comics stuff fulltime. Trust fund? Lottery winner? Those are my future plans...

ITEM: Speaking of cartoonists, Stephanie McMillan, most radical daily strip cartoonist ever, is doing a long form story about activists who get arrested. I think its been the same storyline for the last two weeks now.

Here are two samples:

How true. And then there's this:

June 11

ITEM: Sorry for the long delay in posting. I've been having some health problems, nothing too dire, but its changed my diet and changed my energy levels. I used to have all the energy I needed to do whatever I wanted but as I push 50 I find that's no longer the case. I suppose I could go the Phil K Dick route and just take all the pills and energy supplements, legal and illegal, and write at a high rate. Dick died at 48 I think So that's not a good plan. Warren Ellis, another prolific writer, takes all kinds of drugs and whatnot and he does great work. But I'd be shocked if he made it past 50 as well. I have to totally recondition my body to do things without the copious amounts of sugar and caffeine that I've been dumping into my maw ever since college.

So, give me a few months to try other avenues, like exercise and diet. That's the slow way, but its also the best way.

And now I'm tired. But I should be posting something tomorrow...

May 13

ITEM: Note to Agent Ska: Sestak has run an impressive campaign and is better on the choice issue.

ITEM: Usually when I do these obituaries of great pulp artists I make the presumption that most people haven't seen or heard of their work. This is not the case with the great Frank Frazetta. I think, as a perpetual fanboy, that he was one of the greatest artists of the last century. He was great at everything he did. As per usual, The Comic Book Reporter has the best round up. You can also find a lot of Frazetta art in the Red Light District.

May 7

Related News Tweets of Interest:

Daily tracking poll shows Joe Sestak and Arlen Specter are tied at 43% apiece. It's now "on".. - http://tinyurl.com/2unmj97

Feel the Real Joementum. Specter's 20+ lead fades to 4 points over Sestak with 2 weeks left. - http://tinyurl.com/3xvlx3m

Joe Sestak accepts my wise counsel: Creates Angry Vets counterattack tv ad. - http://tinyurl.com/2ajfm7l

Note to Sestak: Good job on angry grassroots vets organizing but please run a Giannoulias-like ad.. - http://tinyurl.com/26eoymr

Other tweets of interest:

BPEP announces new grant and major new hire: Community Liason Kenneth L. Huston - http://tinyurl.com/379k5x4

MoveOn's new ad against offshore drilling and why we might need to primary President Obama. - http://tinyurl.com/299h8u5

What PZ Myers said: The Internet kills religion. - http://tinyurl.com/23cp6wg

April 27

Bangladeshi sweatshop workers are scheduled to speak before Pittsburgh City Council today.

Bangladeshi sweatshop workers will be speaking before City Council at 1 pm today and 7 pm tonight at the August Wilson Center. Slave labor is the dirty shameful secret behind a lot of multinational wealth. Its a secret that needs to be let out.

Here's the press release I received from Celeste Taylor and the Pittsburgh Anti Sweatshop movement:

Join us for the "Sweatshop Workers Speak Out" Speaking Tour

(Read more at the above link.)

April 22

Atheist Death Threat Toon Roundup: Featuring South Park and the Omnipotent return of Godman(!)

ITEM: You can now find Ruben Bolling, one of the best cartoonists ever, over at Boing Boing. New comic features the recurring character of Godman. Here's a clue about this week's meaning: Billy Billings is the Pope. Let me repeat this: Billy Billings is the Pope. And send money to Billy Billings...you don't want to burn in Hell do ya'?

ITEM: Stephanie Miller has her own Earth Day message.

April 19 PST

ITEM: These are fake paperback covers created for Marvel Comics. I found the link somewhere at IO9.

April 12th

ITEM: Well, its about time. I present to you Atheist Barbie.

And here's the new GOP symbol. Personally I wouldn't want an elephant's junk in my face but you know these Republican strippers...:(stolen from Crooks and Liars...)

April 9th

ITEM: Obviously, I'm getting bad at updating the old homestead even though I've written plenty at my above posts. I think the only solution is keeping one computer available where I do nothing but update this site.

ITEM: You know usually I hate the Young People and I hate their music. But I like the whole idea of Janelle Monae. She does have the offputting Big Boy Icon/Astro Boy hairdo but she's clearly talented. Its like Fishbone had a daughter. She's also consciously science fictional, as seen by her appearance in Stargate Universe of all places. I just never heard a song of hers that caught my fancy. Until now. I really love this video. It also has a nice science-fictional feel to it.

March 19th

ITEM: I guess I need to comment on the healthcare bill. There's seems to be a split on the left with MoveOn, Chris Bowers, Daily Kos (Markos anyway. Not sure about the others on the Kos FrontPage...McJoan is okay with reproductive rights curtailment..?) and others wanting to just pass the damn bill. Firedoglake, David Sirota and Norman Solomon have come out against the bill.

I'm going to have to go with the Kill the Bill crowd. I can't get over those mandates. You will have to buy insurance or face a fine with IRS enforcement. This is much worse than just a fine. If you miss a hearing on your "fine", then a judge can order an arrest warrant for you. Yes, I've learned this from experience. I believe this was a 16 year old rent bill that wasn't worth more than 200 bucks. Try using that math with hospital bills that can hit 10 grand with just one emergency visit. Try imagining what kinds of people will be hit hardest with this kind of enforcement: poor blacks and lower class whites in all probability of which I am one of the former.

I also can't agree with the "we'll fix it later" crowd. The same president and congress that brought us this bill are going to make it better? Why can't they make it better now? Are we really that naive? Its more than likely that the good parts of the bill will be bargained away, especially if republicans take back either chamber in the years to come.

I also don't think this problem can be solved with "better democrats" . The Democratic Party has proven itself not only worthless in terms of progressive goals of making our harsh and mean-spirited society even slightly better, but they're outwardly hostile to progressives within the party. I think I put it this way at Firedoglake:

Misconception 4: Progressives can only win within the Democratic Party.

Jon, go reread your own work. Or read Glenn on civil liberties. Or read Jane’s recent comments on the choice issue. We need to leverage our position with viable third party runs. This is what Rahm meant when he said don’t worry about the left and how fucking retarded we are.

This is a really a combined sentence. He really meant “Progressives are fucking retarded because they’ll vote democrat no matter what evil policies we pass.” Frankly, if this is his thinking, he’s completely correct. I mean, your position is “Screw me hard and dry, Rahm and Barry. I’ll vote democrat anyway and criticize the SEIU if they look for a way out…”

One more point: I don't think it will be the end of the world if this particular healthcare bill doesn't pass. I really think the thing that will kill the dems in 2010 and 2012 will be the jobs issue. Of course, President Obama compromised on this as well. We needed a 2.5 trillion dollar job stimulus and he gave us a quarter of that, and half of that was tax cuts. Then again, rich people like high unemployment. It puts the screws on the working classes. You can't leave your crappy job, ever. Penny Pritzker, must be so pleased. She's also against EFCA too, who knew. Pritzker is a hotel magnate who has lots of crappy jobs to fill which means high unemployment is just grand.

More here at my Examiner Post: The Progressive Case Against the Obama Healthcare Plan

Related ITEM: As a way out of the wonderful choice of choosing between the straight up hard right fascist republican party and the center right Democratic Party

(which passes right wing legislation that Republicans can only dream of like NAFTA or this mandated healthcare bill...), I've finally started a blog called The 5/25 Third Party Plan. Uh, I just need 35 million dollars to make it work. Didn't say it would be easy.

Here's my first description post:

Wednesday, March 17, 2010

A brief description of the 5/25 plan.

I'm going to write a much more detailed outline on what the 5/25 plan is when I have a little bit more time. But this is the short version:

Progressives have been locked out of the debate. We have no place in the Republican Party and the Democratic establishment views the progressive left with what can almost be described as outright hostility, with Rahm Emanuel saying that "we're fucking retards" and "don't worry about the left". And here's the thing: I'm convinced that he might be right because he's convinced that we simply don't have the stones or the moxie to run independent or third party campaigns. Let's prove him wrong about that.

My theory is that we can create viable third party runs because of what we've seen in a number of fund raising attempts by Alan Grayson, Bill Halter and others. We're not running "symbolically". We're running to win.

What do we need to win. We don't need to win every seat everywhere. We're looking for enough seats to create a real progressive block that isn't answerable to the DNC and won't be threatened by Rahm in the shower. A bloc where every member has signed a contract not to work for corporate lobbies after they leave congress. Yes, this bloc would have to be chosen very carefully. Not saying this is going to be easy by the way. (And yes, we would sue if they breach any element of the contract. No more toothless pledges...)

As I've said about a thousand times online at various places, we need to initially shoot for 5 senate seats and 25 house seats. In order to run a viable third party independent campaign you need to raise at least 300000 dollars for a house campaign and 2 million dollars for a senate campaign.

I'll write more on this later.

March 18

ITEM: Will start updating this site more. Just being lazy. Doing Examiner stuff.

March 7

ITEM: I've been busy at this Examiner thing. I've actually been writing a lot for them and being very lazy about cross posting. That should change in the next week.

ITEM: This is some art by the late science fiction artist Robert McCall. Related: There's a very good chance that a science fiction film will win for best Oscar today. I think the only picture that could beat "Avatar" would be "The Hurt Locker", which is a very good and realistic movie. However, I actually think Avatar is a more radical and daring film than the Hurt Locker. Cameron's movie actually goes to the ethics of why you kill. Nobody does that in the Hurt Locker. Those guys just follow orders. They'll kill whoever you tell them to point a gun at. Probably Americans. You just have to ask as we've seen Post Katrina...

My only two Oscar picks, completely irrational. There's no math involved. This is what I want.

Best Picture: Avatar

Best Director: Kathryn Bigelow. I actually don't think the Hurt Locker is her best movie. I like her genre movies like "Near Dark" and "Strange Days" much more. I think this would be more like a career Oscar.

For everything else I gots nothing.

Feb. 22 PST

ITEM: Here's a must see political ad from Joe Sestak. It captures what a lot of us are thinking about Obama's endorsement of Arlen Specter, or the 60th vote that we don't need anymore.

Feb. 17th PST

ITEM: The system crashed yesterday but we're sort of back up. On the other hand, I had to delete a lot of items anyway so I guess this takes care of that. All of these stories are archived over at the Examiner and Mirror Universe anyway. Mirror Universe will probably last forever or as long as Google. You be the judge. I need to start moving the Examiner articles around a bit...

Feb 12

Some quick impressions of PA Progressive 2010 Democrat gubernatorial debate.

I watched all four of the remaining Democratic Party nominees debate last night at the Pennsylvania Progressive Summit 2010. The debaters included Allegheny County Commissioner Dan Onorato, Montgomery County Commissioner Joe Hoeffel, Scranton Mayor Chris Doherty and Pennsylvania Auditor General Jack Wagner.

Tuesday April 15, 2008

Bloom County character Oliver Wendell Jones and NPR Senior Producer Walter Ray Watson: Separated at birth? Actually, it was a closer resemblance before Walt got the dreds...

Morrissey was right. We hate it when our friends become successful. My former New Pittsburgh Courier colleague Walter Ray Watson is the recipient of a Nieman Fellowship. I think that means he gets to teach and write for a year or a summer and he still gets to go back to his job at NPR when he's done. One of the great crimes of this world would be if Walter was unable to finish a book--I mean, any book--before he leaves this plane. One of the most gifted natural stylists I've ever seen, let alone worked with. Congrats. I should note that this gives me another opportunity to take a shot at my old union busting Courier boss Rod Doss. Keep in mind that not only did Rod not hire Tony Norman, arguably the most interesting essayist in the local corporate media, he wouldn't give Walter a recommendation. True, that's because he sort of supported the union I organized down there. I guess that's the kind of thing that angers a pro life republican. But, and I do so hate giving Rod any credit at all, perhaps its best to have had a bad father than no father at all. Rod at least hired you when the white papers in this town wouldn't. I have to also confess I'm also interested in the topic he's studying which is: "will study how the new media will affect communities that lack access to the changing way news and information are delivered." Welp, as Walt used to write, I think the answer is that the new media will probably supplant and replace most of what now constitutes the mainstream media or at least that's my sincere hope. I do hope that NPR is the last to fall, however, in that they do represent excellence. One snarky point: shouldn't someone who's writing about the New Media actually have a blog or two? Then again, I suppose you could talk about my Morrissey impression among other embarrassing hijinks that we had at the Courier, which we once joked about turning into a sitcom proposal...

June 16

Keep checking out her work. Someone stole her bike recently. Goodwills and second hand shops have great cheap bikes.

(Comment here as well.)

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