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.

Fred Rodgers event

BOOK PRESENTATION AND DISCUSSION: Nov 14, 2017

Tuesday, November 14, 2017

6:30 p.m.

Letter Carriers Union Hall, 821 California Avenue, 15212

THE PLOT TO SCAPEGOAT RUSSIA by Dan Kovalik

How the CIA and the Deep State Have Conspired to Vilify Putin, while continuing their policy of permanent war

“A powerful contradiction to the present US narrative of the world… As shown here, fake news is thriving in Washington, DC.” —OLIVER STONE

Dan Kovalik is a union lawyer with the United Steel Workers (USW), and an internationally-recognized Human rights activist and attorney, having travelled more than 30 times to Columbia and Venezuala, as well as to the Congo, Iran and other hotspots around the globe. His firsthand accounts and union perspective are critical contributions to understanding US military activity around the world.

For those involved in important domestic fights, such as healthcare, the environment, labor rights and union drives, immigration, discrimination, upcoming elections, etc., the US military wars and fronts around the world, as well as the yearly increasing already bloated military budget for these adventures, will greatly impact budgets and available funds, domestic programs and every struggle down to the local and community level. We hope you will attend this important presentation and discussion.

Fwd: Preaching to the Choir

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: John H

I am sending along the attached article by Rebecca Solnit from this month's Harper's Magazine because I believe it makes some extremely important (and generally overlooked or dismissed) points about how those of us seeking constructive change need to focus on moving forward.  I am all for engaging with those with whom we disagree, but we must not forget the importance of being together with and supporting those with whom we agree on most, if not all, things.  This means we cannot just focus in one direction.  We also need to heed Solnit's words in the final paragraph of her article:

"Within most examples of broad consensus lie a host of questions and unresolved differences.  Agreement is only the foundation.  Yet from here we can build strong communities of love, spirited movements of resistance.  'We cannot walk alone,' Dr. King said that day in 1963.  Find people to walk with – and talk with – and we find power as well as pleasure."

I would only add that therein lies the courage and the willingness to fight on by going out into the larger community and living our beliefs with strength and conviction.

John

Link

• Preaching to the Choir, a PDF of 130K

Ellen, Ex-Obama Swimmer, goes to college and stars in an insurance commercial

Way to go Ellen!

Wanted: Running Mates and places to run to!

Time to hit the road to share insights about this ballot question for city voters in the 2017 general election.

Who wants to help spread the word?

Where and when are the meetings being held? 

Who can we talk to about getting an invite to speak to the audiences -- for only a couple of minutes.

Inventory / Sales for weight belts from Watermark

Weight & Quantity

3 pound = 1

4 pound = 2

5 pound = 1

6 pound = 3

8 pound = 6

10 pound = 3

12 pound = 1

Fwd: Theater of the absurd

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

From: John H

Here's another example of just how nefarious and persistent neoliberalism is in attempting to distort reality in order to usher in policies intended to support corporate as opposed to individual or worker interests.  But, as the second article implies, neoliberal policies almost always lead to outcomes in which economies collapse and corporate malfeasance is rewarded while individuals are harmed and left unprotected by government.  The second article should also serve as a warning to anyone expecting their personal retirement accounts to continue to grow.  In these situations debt is a killer.

John

Links

• Neoliberalism Booster New York Time Egregious...
• Worst Restaurant Recession Since 2009 Dings ... 

Mayor Peduto linked to an article by @mattiekquinn about GOVERNMENT and the OPIOID crisis

My $.02: 

Let other cities worry about testing WASTE WATER for daily spikes within neighborhoods of opioids -- as Pittsburgh has a problem testing and delivering TAP WATER, the clean stuff. First things first.

In the South Side we drink beer because it is know to be LEAD FREE. We use the water to wash away the piss on the sidewalks -- and that goes into the rivers.

People who "look out the window and they don’t think that tomorrow will be any different than today" will have VALIDATION of that FACT the day our GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS ponder articles that suggest the TESTING OF WASTE WATER for hints of OPIOIDS in flushing piss.

Article: http://www.governing.com/topics/health-human-services/gov-opioid-epidemic-conversation-countries.html

Thanks for speaking to the PPS Board - from Anthony Hamlet

Fwd: Threats abound

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: John Hemington 

These days it seems as if threats of various enormity abound almost everywhere.  Cable news seems never to stop selling fear and loathing – regardless of which political agenda is being cast as the evil one.  But there is one very real threat that few media of any stripe are reporting and it may be, in many respects, the most serious of all.  That is the accumulation derivatives by the four major Wall Street mega-banks as detailed in the attached article by Pam and Russ Martens of Wall Street on Parade.  One bank, Citi, holds derivatives with a notional value of $54.8 trillion dollars.  To get an idea of just how problematic this is, the global GDP of all nations is estimated to be only $75.6 trillion in notional value.  As stated in the article, there is no way that there could ever be sufficient counter-parties to cover this in the event of another financial crash.  More importantly, little or nothing has been done since the Great Financial Crisis of 2008 (GFC) to correct the problems in the financial industry which led to the 2008 crash.  Dodd-Frank when passed was too little, too late and it has since then diluted and de-toothed at the behest of these financial titans.  When the next crash comes, and it almost certainly will, since the same basic players remain in charge both in and out of government, it is likely to be far more devastating and destructive than the one which preceded it.

If there was not a sufficient threat from nuclear war given the insane policies put in place by the Trump administration, not to mention the two previous administrations, cataclysmic financial crises almost always lead to global warfare.  We got lucky in 2008 because the financial bleeding was stopped, but the non-financial victims were never made whole as were the bankers who got to keep all of their ill-gotten gains as well as all of their power to continue operating multi-trillion dollar gambling operations – which is what derivatives really are.  Unfortunately, the main stream media will almost never pay attention to the criminals in high places and instead focus on crime in the streets.  As a result, it is likely that, as before, the crisis will almost certainly find most Americans unprepared (though it is certainly difficult for one to know how to prepare for such a collapse).   Because the victims of the 2008 GFC have never been made whole and have since been ignored and/or denigrated by both major political parties, we have the rise of right-wing nationalism and the election of a very dangerous president with little capacity for restraint or for rational decision making.  As such these are extremely volatile times in which almost any event can lead to catastrophic consequences for us all. 

John

Link:

• Why Wall Street Should Be Viewed as a Major National Threat

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

Fwd: Are You Challenging Yourself Enough?

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Darius Foroux

Conventional wisdom says that you should jump outside your comfort zone to reach the 'magic.' I never understood that saying. What magic are we talking about? Unicorns? Men from Mars? An orgasm? What? I don't know. Here's the thing: I've tried leaping out of my comfort zone, and it didn't work out for me. However, I've also tried to take things very slowly. That also didn't work out for me. I've found that you need a balance between challenge and comfort. And that's a very, very, difficult thing to do. The reason is that doing challenging things requires skill (see drawing above). The more challenging the task, the more skill you need. The problem with taking huge leaps is that you don't have the skills to address the challenge. It's a concept I learned from Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi's seminal book on the way we work, Flow. After studying the relationship between challenge and boredom, he found that a combination of both factors leads to personal growth. Csikszentmihalyi says: "One cannot enjoy doing the same thing at the same level for long. We grow either bored or frustrated; and then the desire to enjoy ourselves again pushes us to stretch our skills, or discover new opportunities for using them." It sounds like common sense, right? Instead of taking big steps, take smaller, and more controlled steps. But never get too comfortable because that's boring. And once you get bored, you stop growing. But life is about forward motion—that's what ultimately helps us grow. To illustrate this concept, let's do a little exercise. Which one of the following three statements describes your situation best? A) I'm bored. B) I'm stretched too thin. C) I feel like I'm challenging myself without going insane. Do this if you answer A (I'm bored) Get out your bubble and do something new. Discover new things in life. Pick up a new sport. Find a different job. Take on different projects. You need a challenge. But also remember this: Don't get addicted to novelty. Learn to love learning. When you hop from one thing to the next, you never get good at anything. Again, it's about balance. Do this if you answered B (I'm stretched too thin) Take a step back. Give up. Quit. Say, "Screw you guys! I'm going home!" You need to accept that it's okay if something is too much. Things are too much for a reason. Find out what that is. Then, address that problem so it doesn't happen again in the future. Learn from your past experiences. Do this if you answered C (I feel like I'm challenging myself without going insane) Just keep it up. Want to know more about how I personally tackle this topic? Listen to my latest podcast episode where I share two personal stories that highlight the balance between challenge and boredom. One story is about how I took on a project in New York that failed miserably. The other story is about how I started my blog. Listen Now Thanks for reading! If you have a question/challenge you want me to talk about, hit reply and let me know. Stay smart, Darius

Fwd: [WordPress Security] PSA: OneLogin Breached. Here's What You Need to Do.

This worry does not apply to my sites, but for those who do use it, heads up.

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: "Wordfence" <list@wordfence.com>

This is a public service announcement from the Wordfence team due to the potential wide impact this breach may have. Single sign-on provider OneLogin has experienced a major data breach.  If you use their services and are affected by this breach, head over to our blog now where we explain what has happened and what you need to do to protect yourself and your data. We also provide additional coverage on this story from other news sources.  Read the post on our blog. Regards, Mark Maunder  Wordfence Founder & CEO To perform a quick malware and vulnerability scan on your website without installing anything, simply visit www.gravityscan.com, enter your website and hit "Launch Scan". Gravityscan works with any website, not just WordPress. If you would like to stop receiving WordPress security alerts and product updates from Wordfence, please use the "unsubscribe" link at the bottom of this email.  You subscribed to this list via the Wordfence security plugin for WordPress.  If you aren't already a member you can subscribe to our WordPress Security and Product Updates mailing list here. You're welcome to republish this email in part or in full provided you mention that the source is www.wordfence.com. If you would like to get Wordfence for your WordPress website, simply go to your "Plugin" menu, click "add new" and search for "wordfence".

STEM and Educational insights - Groundhog Day

---------- Forwarded message
From: John H

I have been reading a particularly interesting book, The Battle for Homestead – 1880-1892: Politics, Culture and Steel, which documents enormous similarities between the Robber Baron era of the 1890s and the Neoliberal era of today. Many of these are highly disconcerting, but one, in particular, took my breath away:

In 1892, on the opening his first library in the United States in Braddock, Pennsylvania, Andrew Carnegie “elaborated on the moral, and indeed the very ethic of his library: ‘Useful knowledge’ did not embrace classical learning, what we today call the liberal arts. Rather, the ‘new idea of education’ was to concentrate, as the new library most assuredly would, on the study of business and science alone.” *

Can everyone, in unison, chant “teaching STEM.” This, of course, goes hand-in-hand with downplaying and ignoring the liberal arts. The idea then, just as it is today, was to create a culture of compliant skilled workers who would readily follow orders without questioning the rationale or the authority of leaders. In other words, educated drones, capable laborers never encouraged to think for themselves. To the extent that this succeeds we will all be the worse for it. I don’t for a minute suggest that we do not teach STEM courses, but that we should never give up teaching HISTORY, SOCIAL SCIENCES, CLASSICAL LITERATURE, ART and MUSIC.

Betsy DeVos, for all I am concerned, can go straight to HELL for what she and the Trump Administration are attempting to do to education. And, never forget, the move toward vouchers and private charter schools started in the Bill Clinton administration and has been supported by mainstream Democrats since then – it’s not just the Republicans! But without a good understanding of history; without the learned ability to think for one’s self which comes, one hopes, from a good liberal arts education, any hope for the continuation of a free republic are doomed.

The Great Depression stopped the Robber Barons for a while, will it take another such calamity, or worse, to stop the neoliberal robber barons of the 21st century?

* The Battle for Homestead – 1880-1892: Politics, Culture and Steel, Paul Krause, University of Pittsburgh Press, 1992, p.232.


John

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

Online Travel Guide for Journalists (ebook)

The Committee to Protect Journalists aims to share this resource. This is not an easy time for journalists all over the world, with the discoveries of surveillance on citizens, which includes journalists and their sources.

https://www.vpnmentor.com/blog/online-privacy-journalists/

Tuesday's game of water polo at CMU gets a re-do on Thursday

Earlier this week, I took these photos, then was the on-deck referee, for a water polo scrimmage from 9 to 11 pm at CMU. 

Come out tonight for a re-do. Perhaps we'll get some visitors in town to join the Pittsburgh Masters for the Collegiate Club Championships at Pitt that starts on Friday morning.

Dollar Bank $10,000 tuition scholarship

Dollar Bank is sponsoring a contest for high school seniors as described in the attached flyer.


The prize is a $10,000 scholarship that the winner can use towards their college tuition. Dollar Bank is asking if  we can circulate this among the kids in the College and Career Readiness Program of the Bloomfield-Garfield Corporation.

See the link to the one-page PDF.

Read the full details in the link.

Take a Father to School Day - propaganda