It's So Easy To Tell When Ravenstahl Is Lying

Homeland Security SUV Just The Latest Example

His weaving, bobbing, fluttering eyelids and/or lack of direct eye contact when being interviewed are usually all the clues that are needed for one to know when the mayor is lying. But what about those times when he’s interviewed off-camera? Without body language clues to guide us, how can we tell if the mayor is scamming us once again?

Aside from the fact that when Ravenstahl speaks, it usually is a lie ……Still, there are some very simple ways to immediately tell when the boy is dishing out the bull:

If the mayor says he’s “not aware” or “unaware”, that usually means just the opposite:
- Joyriding in Homeland Security SUVs: “Mr. Ravenstahl said he was not aware that the [GMC Yukon] was paid for with federal Homeland Security funds when he was using it for things like business travel to Harrisburg and for his personal use, including a Toby Keith concert in August.”
- Missing the Casino Hearing: “Mr. Ravenstahl said last night that the trip was planned months ago, and until a staff member notified him of the fervor at the meeting Tuesday night, he was unaware the mailer indicated he would be present.”
- Promoting Wife-Beating Cops: “With regard to Charles Rodriguez and Eugene F. Hlavac, as I have said, I was unaware of there being any issues in their background prior to public reports last week.”

If the mayor says he “never intended” or it was “never his intention” to do something, you can bet that was his plan from day one:
- Increasing His Staff While Denying It Will Increase His Budget: "This is just a reorganization," the mayor said. "I want to stress that there is no intention of increasing the mayor's office budget. This will not do that."
- Crashing Tiger Woods: "Once I found that out, and once I was invited, certainly I accepted. But I did not go out there knowing that American Express had the opportunity to go with him that afternoon. That was never my intention. My intention was simply to say hello, welcome him, and spend, you, know, a minute or two with him."
- Blowing Off the North Side to Watch The Red Sox: The mayor’s office tells KDKA Ravenstahl never intended to attend the public meeting on the North Side and that the postcard asking residents to join him was an administrative mistake.
- Blowing Off Domestic Abuse Meeting to Play Golf: "I never intended to go," he said after speaking at a celebration in West Park for the pending redevelopment of the Garden Theater on the North Side.


When the mayor awkwardly inserts the word “myself” into any sentence, alarm bells should immediately go off:
- Hill District Inclusion in Arena Development: "Myself and the county executive have been meeting regularly with the organizations in the Hill District," he said. "We are going to continue to meet with them."
- The Need For Bodyguards When Partying Till 1AM: “There are times when if I do something personal at somebody's home, I'll go with my wife and myself," he said. But if he's out politicking, or grabbing dinner and drinks, he's accompanied.
- Explaining Heinz Field Drunk & Disorderly: "Myself and other individuals in the front were really not even in control of ourselves," he said. "We couldn't control ourselves because of the force from behind.”


And if the mayor doesn’t remember where he was, where or what he ate, where he slept or even how he got there…..
- Blowing off The Hill to Party With Burkle: "Pittsburgh Mayor Luke Ravenstahl hopped a private jet to New York City to have dinner and drinks at a posh Manhattan hotel hours after announcing a $290 million deal to build a new Uptown arena for the Penguins." ..... "When asked about the evening, Ravenstahl said he did not know where he ate." .... "The mayor said he did not remember what part of town he spent the night."

Are we really going to hand this lying Frat Boy the keys to the city? Weren't the keys to the Yukon bad enough?