Just a reminder: I'm no fan of McCain. There were at least 4 other primary candidates (from both parties) that are better for the job. However, none of them are Obama. I'm sick & tired of hearing that only racists & elitists refuse to support him. Nothing could be further from the truth. In fact, Obama is the worst kind of elitist because he wants you (the voter) to hate the wealthy while supporting his campaign but the Obamas aren't exactly poor. He wants you to blame the... Read Full Story

Continuing our series of pointing out the flaws in Obama's Blueprint for Change, there's some pretty scary stuff about health insurance coverage here. Let me preface my criticisms by stating that I am more than superficially qualified to critique health care proposals. I've been without coverage due to assinine reasons (having had a non-malignant freckle removed from my arm 5 years prior made me "uninsurable" according to BCBS). I have paid both ridiculously high premium... Read Full Story

It seems to me that being a farmer is a pretty thankless job in many ways. It's hard work, it's not very lucrative & there are many obstacles outside of your control to worry about, like weather. We need farmers & the fruits of their labor. They should be respected, valued & appreciated in our society because they feed us.But it seems that farmers are frequently getting shafted by local government regulations that favor sprawl. In the greater Pittsburgh area, there are fre... Read Full Story

This regards a recent op-ed piece which bemoans the segregation of housing in Pittsburgh. I grew up here & am intimately acquainted with the city & most of it's suburbs, yet I find this letter to be vague & pointless. Pittsburgh is losing population all of the time. It's been going on for decades & we're always shrinking, never growing.It's not just white people leaving the area, nor does it have anything to do with race. People of all ... Read Full Story

Don't get me wrong, I'm no fan of McCain. He wasn't my first choice for presidential candidate - or even my second, third, fourth or fifth. However, he's the least of the evils because at least he isn't a radical Marxist while Obama may well be their poster boy.At first I dismissed the chatter as typical talk radio fodder. But as I learn more, I become increasingly concerned. And my concern is twofold: Not only are the facts disturbing but that fact that they're being ... Read Full Story

There’s been a lot of talk lately about the rights of bicyclists with the advent of the City of Pittsburgh’s new city Bicycle Czar. It’s turning into a heated debate between motorists & cyclists, but many of the real issues are being obscured by the knee-jerk reactions of the speakers.I commute on foot but also bike frequently, as well as owning & regularly operating a car. Thus, I feel as though I’ve got a foot in every corner on this issue. I can’t help but wonder why cyclists feel ... Read Full Story

I called Customer Relations & tell a very nice woman the whole story about my mail, credit report, etc. She is so horrified that she puts me on hold before I can even tell the whole story & puts her supervisor on the phone.I begin again. The supervisor is so horrified that she also stops me & puts her supervisor on the phone. This time I get to tell the entire story & she is extremely apologetic, for both the mistake & for the behavior of the store manager.They tell me tha... Read Full Story

I go to the store & patiently explain the problem to the store manager (Chantal), hoping that she will be able to help. She is not sympathetic in the least. There are rules & she can't help me. So I tell her that I want to return the rings, because I simply want to spend my money elsewhere. I'm bluffing but it works. Aha! "Return" must really hit a nerve.Instantly, she has transformed from a sour, scowling shrew of a woman into a friendly, smiling person whose only m... Read Full Story

I recently opened an account at Jared the supposed Galleria of jewelry. Biggest mistake I have ever made. For starters, I was told that if I open an account, there's no payments due or finance charges for 90 days. Ok, sounded great. Among other things, my fiancee & I bought our wedding bands there.A couple of weeks have gone by & I haven't received anything from Jared. I was expecting some acknowledgement of the new account, such as a letter or store credit card. I called the ... Read Full Story

Annoying salespeople. Very annoying. At one point, the salesman offered to clean my engagement ring for me. I thought that was very kind & accepted. But when he handed it back to me, he directed us to another counter & said that if ever wanted to upgrade, they had a lot of nice diamonds in "better" settings.My ring is an amethyst because I wanted an amethyst, thank you very much. I am aware of the existence of diamonds but have never been partial to them myself. They're ... Read Full Story