Michael Diven and Wayne Fontana spent lots of money and paid plenty to printers and postmaster

Both Diven and Fontana ads were over the top. 

Election day was on May 17. It was a special election. Fontana won. Diven and then me.

Vote for Catherine for AAA President

 https://rauterkus.com/election-for-ame…iology-president/

Voting has started.

My Quora Answer to a sports question:

How do you explain why people like sports to someone who doesn't like sports?

by Mark Rauterkus, Swim & Water Polo Coach

Sports are games. The games have rules. The realm of these rules and game play makes an alternative reality. This is pretend importance and escape from life. This is high drama of meaningless outcome. Entering the bubble of sports is fun.

Sport is unscripted too. Outcomes are uncertain. Think mystery. Who wins and who is the goat is for all to see. Sport often delivers new terms and jargon. The language gets twisted in sports with new meanings and pretend signals with superstition and superstar play. GOAT, for instance, means GREATEST OF ALL TIME.

Sports put humans at their very best in my opinion. We go higher, faster, longer in quests for greatness. Be the strongest and be a better self every week, every day, hour and minute growing a passion of excellence.

There are some take-home messages from sport for life. The lessons of sport can transcend into life. Sports should help, illustrate and encourage society and individuals to be better. Through sport and because of sport, rise up and be a better citizen, student, parent, professional.

If one does not like sports, well, fine. Different strokes for different folks. Try golf instead. Golf gets a pass into the world of sports because the thought of bashing small balls with such great force and accuracy is to scary to imagine out of the context of sports.

Conservative foil: Sue Kerr of Pgh Lesbian Correspondents

Conservative foil:Sue Kerr of Pgh Lesbian Correspondents

Let's ponder the definition. “Conservative” is holding to traditional attitudes and values and cautious about change or innovation, typically in relation to politics or religion.

Sue Kerr, a blogger, (I am a blogger too) is playing the role of a conservative and asking people to vote “NO” to the City of Pittsburgh ballot measure that I have championed because:

- She has not found anyone with actual facts, however, she refused to answer my friend request on Facebook and refused to discuss this with me despite my repeated approaches to her. So, her seeking is more like planned avoidance. Come on Sue. Why can't we be friends? One of my central themes as a coach and advocate for better government is “playing well with others.”

- Then she writes, “the narrow exclusion would only benefit a few people.” Really? You really want to put hardships on super-minorities? You think that because only a fraction of the population is (insert letter of your choice) that they don't deserve the rights of others? What about protection against discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity? Hey, that is a “narrow” and those protections only benefit a few people. So, let's let things as they are. So conservative of you.

Pittsburgh passed a law with sexual orientation protection and that benefits few – and I'm proud to have that as part of the fabric of our city's legacy. Helping a few people helps us all be better, be stronger, be more whole. At its roots, the ballot question is about non-discrimination. I don't like discrimination, even for a few, and I'm puzzled why you favor it.

- Vote no, posts Sue, “because some are already coaching and teaching in public universities as adjunct faculty (just Google a few names.)” What? Who? Name names! I know of none. Should we google the entire city payroll? And, what might that uncover? I don't have the names of all the city workers. Sue, why don't you send this posting to Michael Lamb, city controller. Does your partner work for CCAC? I don't know what to think. I lost my decoder ring anyway. And, let's say it is true in that perhaps there are a few workers in the city who are already working another part-time job, against the norm and city charter's stipulations, for CCAC and /or Pittsburgh Public Schools – then what? Do you want to whistleblow? Or, would you just forgive them and not allow others the same opportunities? Then vote YES with me. Or, are you just without any logic and wishing to spread fog and doubt?

- Since, as Sue posted, “enforcement of this ban has certainly not been consistent” then it makes sense to vote YES and be done with this opportunity for meaningless rule-breaking. All should know that I championed this ballot question because last year a newly-hired coach was forced off of the PPS job because of his city employment with the department of public works. Real work actions, to my knowledge, have been fully consistent and ethical. He should not have worked last year – and he didn't. But, he should be able to work as a coach next week if we change the charter. And, I hope he applies, gets hired and takes another coaching job as soon as possible.

- Sue thinks a no vote is wise because of a lack of an informed perspective. Wrong. The matter before the voters in the election is for part-time employment. Part-time employment for public-school coaching and adjunct teaching at CCAC is different. The charter's authors didn't visualize every possible situation under the sun for the future of our city. This is an enhancement. Be progressive.

The quote from Mr. O'Connor of city council speaks against a broader exemption as being problematic, but this ballot question is specific and NOT A PROBLEM.

Ms. Rudiak of city council defends the ballot question too. The change is what it is. It is not an exemptions for all types of government side work. It is a question with focus. Perhaps Sue likes uncertainty and sinister plots within her ballot questions. I don't.

- Sue goes on to slam Natalia Rudiak for leaving office at the end of her term. She didn't seek re-election because she is moving on to other chapters in her life. “Who would champion such a thing?” is a direct question from Sue. Answer: A reasonable person who listens to citizens' concerns and does her job while she is hired to do her job. I'm happy that Natalia has not been a lame duck for an entire year.

Sue attempts to throw stones now at the messenger and not the message, a childish ploy.

Sue then plays the not forthcoming victim yet won't converse with me. Joke is on Sue.

Sue gets it wrong again when she posts that the goal is to create more employment and side income opportunities for City employees. Wrong! That is not the goal. Sue knows what the goal is, as the first line of her blog post reads, “… I think students in Pittsburgh Public Schools (PPS) deserve good coaches.” That's the goal. We had a good coach knocked off of a part-time coaching job opportunity because of a city-charter provision that worked AGAINST good coaching. Here is the formula from 2016-17 season on the PPS pool deck: 2 coaches, minus one, equals less coaching. That's bad. Help fix it.

- Sue asks a question for another day and another referendum, “Why not allow employees to do holiday temp work with the postal service?” That's not the issue. Your thinking that voters should pick “NO” because this ballot question is not going to help the postal service is crazy talk. I'm happy Sue thinks coaching is important. No amount of her lengthy googling should get in the way of a YES vote on this simple measure.

- Sue asks: Is it reasonable to amend our City constitution to address select employment vacancies in PPS? Isn’t that the responsibility of PPS? NO! The sticking point is the city, not PPS. The problem is with the city's charter, not PPS. When fixing a problem, go to the source of the problem. Victims are not to blame.

We’re talking 3,100 people who would be ineligible out of the whole population of the City. Is that a reason to change the constitution? YES. Vote yes. Problem fixed. Changes made. No blood required. This is not a drastic measure. I hate to write such a drastic blog post too.

The 3,100 people who work for the city account for the second largest block of employed people in the city. If five great coaches come from the ranks of the city's work force, they could impact hundreds of kids a year. Whole schools and neighborhoods could change. Teen violence might reversed itself. I know that I help to teach about 200 kids how to swim and swim better every year. In the course of my career, more than 10,000 kids have called me “coach.” The impact of a few coaches can be tremendous. I think that some of the folks who work in the city should have the same opportunities to contribute to the community in meaningful ways as I have had the good fortune to do as well.

I've been known to recruit coaching help for employment needs anywhere and everywhere. Even at UPMC and at AGH. Last year, an kid of an AGH employee was employed with our Summer Dreamers Swim & Water Polo Camp. Furthermore, it is HARD to find qualified candidates to coach in part-time positions. There is a world-wide shortage of lifeguards. Coaching shortages are, well, just google it yourself, Sue.

Sue says that this proposed change will disproportionately benefit men. Sue, ever hear of Title IX? There are not fewer opportunities for women coaches. And, women and men make the same money in coaching with PPS as it is a union-negotiated amount. Double-wrong.

OMG Sue, here is my answer for your absurd question that follows. Yes. Anyone can sue anyone at any time. Sue's Q: “Does this set up the possibility for excluded employees to sue the City because they are not able to pursue a sorting gig with the USPS over the holidays?” No one answered that question – except me.

Only a conservative crank would use the lack of a robust research process on the charter provision’s history – paralysis by analysis – as an excuse for a no vote.

Coaching is a privilege. I am privileged. I coach boys and girls. Title IX insures that the boys and girls get equal treatment.

I do not want to see our police union in Harrisburg at the PA Supreme Court in litigation seeking rights to move their homes and their kids into school districts that are out of the city. Rather, I'd be more willing to permit employees of the city, such as those on the police force, to be permitted to coach their sons and daughters and their classmates in the city's schools programs of sports, music, chess, drama, debate – with part-time jobs. For some, being engaged in the lives of their children is important. And, it is important enough that if my city prohibited that from happening, moving out of the city makes great sense. Let's keep those people here.

And you'd rather have a volunteer coach from the ranks of city employees – for further hardships on families. A volunteer coach isn't accountable. A volunteer coach has no standing with the district and can be flicked aside by the PFT in a heart-beat. Clueless odds are high. I do not want evenly applied coaching employment. I want talented, inspiring coaches. You seem to want to keep employees of the city within financial distress.

Your commending of the city employees who put forth this suggestion is misplaced too. A city resident and a PPS coach, acting on my own, seeing the reality of situations, put forth the ballot measure. The city and the district have been reserved. Let's all applaud people who act with integrity and let's all fix flaws, together. Both big and small flaws count. Don't get in the way of progress because it has always been done in another flawed way. This is fair. This is complete for what it is. If you want utopia, put it on the ballot yourself.

A good reason for you to block this YES vote is because a women helped get it in front of the voters and she is quitting. We are losing women in elected roles so we should not pass measures that they help to advance. Come on.

You, Sue, can write the post-office ballot measure for 2018. Go for it.

By the way, off of society's needs can't be put into one YES or NO ballot measure. By voting YES, the citizens of Pittsburgh get to side-step and fix a WORST-PRACTICE clause in the city's charter. It isn't about “best-practices” – but rather about making improvements.

Fwd: Slavery, Genocide & Racism

---------- Forwarded message ----------

From: John H

With all of the discussions of slavery, genocide and racism being thrown around for the past couple of weeks, perhaps it would be a good idea to actually talk about the real history of these institutions in the history of this nation.  In the attached article, Paul Street, presents a compelling review of these sordid topics.  Most Americans lack this knowledge and really do not want to know about and understand that this nation was from the very beginning, not just of the nation, but also from its earliest days as a British colony fully dedicated to the slavery of Africans and the genocide of aboriginal natives.  And, while those official policies no longer exist, much of this behavior continues to exist in a variety unofficial treatment and behaviors.  The remnants of these destructive ideas are utilized by our 'betters' to insure that we fail to see and/or understand the class divisions which prevent important movements against power and privilege.  By all means DO Read Street's excellent article.

John

Link:

• A Lesson on Slavery for White America, PDF article, 383k

Getting more people eligible to coach in Pittsburgh Public Schools requires a change in the city's charter

Because Will, our water polo friend, is going to move to Yale for Grad School

Mayor Flees as Government Workers demand their year-end bonus pay

Protest by government workers who are demanding their bonus pay.



Article.

Not baseball as we like

This is the type of support some in PPS give to PPS Summer Dreamers

In spring 2016, I put in a pool permit to get ready for Summer Dreamers so that our summer staff can work with the existing kids at Obama at the pool -- and work with a renewal of swim skills with the kids I coached in past years as part of PPS Summer Dreamers. 

The permit was denied. The denial says, "NO SUMMER DREAMER STUFF."

I wanted to have ONE practice on Wednesdays from April to June. 

Go figure.

Futhermore, in future years this permit would be considered a blessing -- because there is an ANSWER. MOST of the time, interactions with PPS administrators have no replies. Silence. 

Reading up on Bernie

Interesting.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bernie_Sanders

In the first D-candidate debate, the introduction time for each candidate was 2-minutes long. Senator Sanders spent his time talking about issues and gave little, if not nothing, about himself.

I do enjoy seeing a guy who bucked the two-party system get some traction in political circles. Props too for University of Chicago grad. Our swim team captain from last year's squad at Obama Academy is a freshman there now.

Another good article about Socialism and Bernie's stances with those political terms:

http://www.vox.com/2015/10/14/9530787/socialism-history-explained

A good runner in high school too.

http://magazine.good.is/articles/feel-the-bern-bernie-sanders-facts?utm_source=thedailygood&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=dailygood

2 Political Junkies should think about doing a Kickstarter and getting a couple of these publications

The Pittsburgh Tribune Review seems to be downsizing some of its remote publications with sales looming, as reported in its own pages.

http://triblive.com/business/headlines/8994304-74/trib-media-total#axzz3k9SAfE4v

Perhaps Dave, a blogger at 2 Political Junkies, should do a crowd source campaign and buy one or two of these papers. Dave just loves to read the various opinions found in the pages of the Trib, especially by editorial pundits, and lampoon them for less than truthful statements and conclusions.

Doping

Video for 19 minutes.

Doping to Win by JovaniJory

When a college team mails in a "F" -- they get the next year OFF too

California University of PA has a football team with five of its players in jail and in serious trouble due to some late night fight. All the players have been kicked out of school. The team is scratching its next game this weekend. Forfeit. Gannon wins. Cal U sees its home game vanish. And a guy is in critical condition after a life-flight to Allegheny General Hospital. Hope he doesn't die.

This is another football forfeit. Here is another brick in the wall that signals the long, slow departure of that game from society's landscape. Football is well past its peak and is headed to the toilet bowl in the years to come.

In water polo, after a team mails in a "F" -- the next year they are kicked out of the league. A team that forfeits gets the following year without the ability to play in the league.

This would be a great time for those at CalU to look into creating a number of different activities to take the place of football. How about an Ultimate Frisbee House League? What about Rugby 7s and Rugby Union teams? How about water polo? Perhaps they should do a better job at CalU with their Powerlifting matches and Bodybuilding too. And finally, most of all, time to hook up with the Boys to Men program and get those discussions established about accountability of actions, stopping violence, and intervention.

None know what the future holds for these guys and the overall program. But it is a good thing to take a break and think again. Let's establish a different set of norms and get everyone to play nice with others.

Schenley SOLD

Many citizens gave great effort to save Schenley's building as an educational asset for city students. This was a noble fight. The public district used all its might and loads of misinformation to insure its eventual liquidation. 

Now, I fear, it is safe to say that the only things left to do is watch, wait, wag fingers and say, "We told you so." 

The deed to the building is almost gone from the clutches of its public trustees. 

Fingers wag at Mark Roosevelt, Patrick Dowd (former PPS board member who greased the pathway to closing the school) and all other politicians who did nothing, little or mowed down the grass-roots opposition.

Eventually the building will be filled with student housing.

Perhaps there will be a tweet or media story about the first resident to the Schenley Dorm who also uses some Pittsburgh Promise funds to pay for college. Perhaps the ownership of the building will flip from PMC. Perhaps historic tax credits will come too -- or a TIF like "development deal" tied to another project bundled with this rehab. Perhaps the union workers will get an elevator job and taxpayers get the shaft. 

Let's live to fight another day.

Sold! 

Wag on the ready.

Letter to Linda Lane, PPS Superintendent, concerning some age-old issues at Obama Swimming

Letter dated November 7, 2012 to PPS superintendent.

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Title IX -- 40 years and it now really sucks to be a boy

Title IX has its 40th birthday -- and Title IX is no friend of mine.

Let's see, I coached swimming with the men's team at Ohio University. Now my sons won't dare go to Ohio University because the men's swim team was cut some years ago. When I was there, there was swimming and diving for both men and women.

Then I coached at Baylor University. Baylor had a team then -- but it stopped. Now Baylor has no swimming for either men or women. However, Baylor is now building a new football stadium.

Then I coached at Bradley University. They had a men's swim team -- now gone. Bradley even started a womens team and now it has neither.

There is a long list of lost opportunities for men in college sports thanks to Title IX and pin headed administrators. Here is the message: Winning happens with addition. Never does one win with subtraction.

Here is a list of swim teams cut in recent times:

SwimmingEdit

The mens swim team has been cut years ago, sadly. See Title IX/Cutting_Mens_Swimming.

• University of Akron 1966
• Alabama A&M 1984
• University_of_Alaska_Anchorage 1987
• University of Alaska Fairbanks 1987
• University_at_Albany,_SUNY 1989
• American_University_of_Puerto_Rico 1966
• Arkansas 1996
• Baylor University
  • Baylor University had a Men's and Women's team in 1982-83. The program (both men and women) ended when the old 33 1/3 yard swim pool was converted to Physical Education lab space. Not a Title IX cut.
• Benedictine (Ill.) 1996
• Bowling Green State University
• Bradley University
• Brooklyn 1979
• Buena Vista 1989
• Cal Poly Pomona 1979
• Cal St. Chico 1991
• Cal St. Fullerton 1973
• Cal St. Hayward 1990
• Cal St. L.A. 1992
• Cal St. Northridge 1990
• Cal St. San Bernardino 1992
• CCNY 1984
• Central Connecticut State University
  • Central Connecticut State University Men's Swimming was 24th in 2000 NCAA Division I Championships and the team was dropped in 2002.
• Central Michigan 1971
• Central Missouri State 1980
• Central Wash. 2003
• Chicago State 1979
• Clemson University
• Colorado State 1975
• Duquesne University
• East Stroudsburg 1990
• Eastern Kentucky 1980s?
• Eisenhower 1982
• Ferris State 1992
• Fresno State 1976
• Furman 1989
• Hastings 1954
• Houston 1984
• Idaho 1965
• Idaho State 1967
• Illinois University 1990
• Illinois State 1969
• Indiana State 1968
• Iowa State 2001
• Juniata College
• Kansas 1999
• Kansas State 1965
• Kent State University
• Kutztown
• La.-Monroe 1994
• Long Beach State 1988
• Loyola (Ill.) 1965
• Manhattanville 1978
• Marshall University
• Mass.-Lowell 1983
• Metro State 2003
• Miami (Fla.) 2004
• Minnesota State - Mankato 2003
  • Mankato's men's team competed in NCAA Division II nationals up to 2010 before dropping the team,http://www.lhup.edu/sports/NCAA/WedPrelimResults.htm Reference 200 IM, Matt Chida. Its most recent highlight being Marty Wahle's runner up finish in the 200 back in 2009.
• Minnesota State - Moorhead 2004
• Missouri - St. Louis 1993
• Montana 1985
• Muskingum 1966
• Nazareth (N.Y.) 1993
• Nebraska 2000
• University of New Hampshire
• New Mexico 1999
• North Park 1970
• Northern University 1977
• Northern Colorado. 1979
• Northern Illinois 1965
• Northern Iowa 1980
• Northern Michigan 1970
• Ohio University 1988
• Oklahoma 1971
• Oklahoma State 1977
• Oregon 1975
• Regis (Colo.) 1984
• University of Rhode Island
• Rutgers
• Sacramento State 1988
• Salem International 1999
• San Diego State 1969
• San Francisco State 1998
• San Jose State 1977
• Santa Clara 1967
• Slippery Rock 1999
• Southern Oregon 1982
• Southwest Missouri State 1982
• St. John's (N.Y.)
  • St John's NY died around 2000.
• St. Joseph's (Ind.) 1968
• Syracuse 2001
• Temple 1948
• Texas State 1982
• Texas Tech 1966
• Texas-Arlington 1979
• University of Toledo
• UC Davis
  • Cut about 2009, and relays were swimming at NCAAs the year it was cut.
• UC Irvine 1997?
• UC Riverside 1984
• UCLA 1994
• University of Vermont
• Virginia. Commonwealth 1985
• University of Washington
  • In 2009, the University of Washington Women's swim team finished in 15th place at NCAAs and the men's squad finished in 16th place. Then one month later, both programs were cut.
• Washington State 1966
• Wayne State (Neb) 1946
• Western Michigan University
• Western State 1975
• Wilkes 1972
• Youngstown State University 1981