Category: default || By jt3y

Gee, Mrs. Kerry: Are you petulant much? From Reuters:

Minutes after telling her husband's supporters to restore a more dignified tone to politics, Teresa Heinz Kerry told a reporter to "shove it."

No one expects her to behave like Mamie Eisenhower, but we don't expect Roseanne Barr, either.

The story was leading the national news at 7 a.m., at least on stations that carry AP Radio (I was listening to WMBS). I have a feeling it will be the topic of much gleeful discussion on O'Reilly and Scarborough, and possibly "The Daily Show." Surely it's a one- or two-day story at best, but it was a Dumb Move with a capital "D" for our Hometown Girl.

And then came this statement from the Yawn Kerry campaign: "It was a moment of extreme frustration aimed at a right wing rag that has consistently and almost purposefully misrepresented the facts when reporting on Mrs. Heinz Kerry."

Oh, well, at least it's all clear now.

What the heck is wrong with these folks? Instead of letting this thing die, you're piling some insult onto the injuries by engaging in name-calling of the type you profess to hate.

Who's advising her on PR? Dick Cheney? (No, I guess not. He wouldn't have stopped at "shove it.")

Teresa Heinz Kerry was the subject of a fairly positive profile in Sunday's Washington Post, which also included a large nighttime photo of the Downtown Picksburg skyline by the P-G's Darrell Sapp.

Of course, the story was filled with exaggerated platitudes that will make most people from Western Pennsylvania shake their heads: "Once so grimy and gray, Pittsburgh now glistens by day and glitters by night, its spectacular skyline reflected in the water," writes the Post's Ann Gerhart.

Um, Ann? Where have you been? The first Pittsburgh "Renaissance" happened in the 1950s and '60s; if any foundations deserve the credit, it's the Mellon foundations, not the Heinz endowments. That's not to say the Heinzes haven't been proactive in philanthropy, but let's at least be accurate.

Anyway, I don't know if the "shove it" cancels out the kind of warm fuzzies that Teresa Heinz Kerry got from the Post, but it doesn't help, I'd guess.

In other news, the McKeesport Heritage Center is hosting an exhibit of historic front pages and memorabilia from The Daily News, which is celebrating its 120th anniversary this year. Call 412-678-1832 or visit our heritage center Web page for the address and hours.

Househunting tips: I didn't buy my house through a Coldwell Banker agent, but the company's Web site, PittsburghMoves.com, is exceptionally useful.

It allows you to search by properties via ZIP codes, price ranges or municipality names, and even returns the West Penn Multi-List number for each home. The downside is that it's not always up-to-date; over the past few months, I've spotted several homes in which I was interested on PittsburghMoves and sent the Multi-List number to my agent, only to find out that the house was already sold.

Also: Many companies that once wrote homeowner's insurance no longer do so, according to the insurance agent I just used, and this article from Macleans tends to bear out his comments. (It quotes Canadian homeowners, but the one company mentioned by name is AIG, which is American.)

Some companies are being much stricter about who they will insure, or won't insure, and why, according to Macleans, and some companies are cancelling policies for homeowners who have made as few as two claims. In fact, just calling to inquire about your level of coverage can count as a claim, the magazine says.

You can get more information about homeowners insurance from the Federal Consumer Information Center (yes, the one in "Pueblo, Colo., 81009"), and from the Pennsylvania State Insurance Commissioner.