How UPMC's overseas operations blossomed in 14 years

Way to go UPMC.

How UPMC's overseas operations blossomed in 14 years: "You wouldn't know it from the 1,300 employees running 14 operations in six foreign countries and the nearly $100 million in annual revenue from records management, cancer centers, general hospitals, biomedical research and a transplant center, but UPMC did not have any grand strategy when it started its international efforts nearly 14 years ago."

So the next time the Mayor of Pittsburgh wants to do something silly -- like a student or sick person tax, beware. They may take their toys and go away.

Alle-Kiski Valley's human-powered boats boom in popularity - Pittsburgh Tribune-Review

Alle-Kiski Valley's human-powered boats boom in popularity - Pittsburgh Tribune-ReviewWhile powerboating has been popular for years in the Alle-Kiski Valley, the real boom regionally has been in human-powered boating.
The Kiskiminetas River, which forms the border between Westmoreland and Armstrong counties, has seen tremendous growth in kayaking and canoeing.
Neill Andritz owns River's Edge Canoe and Kayak Rental in Gilpin with his wife, Evelyn. The outfitter offers 22-mile runs down the Kiski from Avonmore to the Schenley section of Gilpin, where the Kiski enters the Allegheny River.
He said his business just keeps getting busier. The Andritzs outfitted 800 customers in 2007. In 2009, the number jumped to a 2,000.
'It is due to the fact that the Kiski has made such a miraculous comeback,' Andritz said.

Rand, Korea, AZ law, and better shows

Kelly Awards: Creative high schoolers give it their all

Way to go Schenley!

Kelly Awards: Creative high schoolers give it their all: "That seemed especially true this year, when the talent and the awards were so evenly spread. At Saturday's gala, the 16 awards were spread among nine schools, with only Pine-Richland (4), Pittsburgh Schenley (3), and Central Catholic and Baldwin-Whitehall (both 2) winning more than one."

Cycle in a Ride of Silence - Memorial Day

Thanks to Jim Logan for this:

Ride of Silence - Memorial Day - 7 AM - In memory and tribute of cyclists killed by vehiclesAdd a comment »
Started by Jim Logan, VP Product Engineering at Vocollect Healthcare Systems, Inc.
What is a Ride of Silence?
Cyclists riding slowly (no faster than 12 MPH) in silence (public assembly) and in the below goals:
o Mourning those cyclists killed or injured
o Cycling is not going to be chased or intimidated off the streets we legally share
o Cyclists want only to share the road with motorists
o Making motorists aware of the life long legal, as well as life changing, problems that can ensue from killing a cyclist



On Thursday May 27th Donald Parker, 52, of Clearfield Rd, Hampton Twp, was struck by a car and died while commuting. The Western PA Wheelmen and Bike Pgh are endorsing a Ride of Silence (http://www.rideofsilence.org/main.php) that will ride portions of Don's commuting route. We will start at the Waterworks Mall in Fox Chapel and ride to the Intersection of Harts Run Rd and Saxonburg Blvd. At that point the we will turn around, and the official Ride of Silence will start, as Don was struck and killed climbing the hill on Harts Run Rd from Saxonburg Blvd to Dorseyville Rd. Approximately there-and-back mileage is 16 miles.

You are encouraged to wear a black arm im memoriam of riders killed, and a red arm band if you have been injured by a motorist.

Plan:
- We assembly at the Waterworks Mall Parking in Fox Chapel lot near the Dollar Bank end of the parking lot at 6:45 AM, leaving at 7:00 AM.
- We ride the 8 miles to Harts Run Rd and Saxonburg Blvd.
- Those who wish to ride a shorter distance should meet us at the intersection of Harts Run Rd and Saxonburg Blvd at approximately 7:45 AM.
- On the return, we will ride silently from from Saxonburg Blvd to Harts Run Rd in memory of Donald and other riders killed by vehicles.
- We will ride as a group, slowly there and back, at least until we get to the top of the descrent back down Fox Chapel Rd.
- Please treat this ride with the dignity it deserves.
- Helmets required.
- We will recruit road marshalls for the front and rear of the group the day of the event.

Jim Logan

Obituary: Gary Coleman / Star of 'Diff'rent Strokes' who wanted to be more

Obituary: Gary Coleman / Star of 'Diff'rent Strokes' who wanted to be more: "Mr. Coleman was among 135 candidates who ran in California's bizarre 2003 recall election to replace then-Gov. Gray Davis, whom voters ousted in favor of Arnold Schwarzenegger."

Fitness and Wellness Tests

Maybe you can take a look at this system: http://www.fitstatsweb.com/

It incorporates fitness and wellness tests from nationally recognized protocols and also let you add your own tests and standards. There is an adult wellness version available and it's made for large testing programs.

Francois Gazzano, Moncton, Canada

WOMEN AND MEN IN SPORT PERFORMANCE: THE GENDER GAP HAS NOT EVOLVED SINCE 1983, JSSM-2010, Vol.9, Issue 2, 214 - 223

WOMEN AND MEN IN SPORT PERFORMANCE: THE GENDER GAP HAS NOT EVOLVED SINCE 1983, JSSM-2010, Vol.9, Issue 2, 214 - 223: "women will not run, jump, swim or ride as fast as men."

Take that, Title IX.

Who are the real “crazies” in our political culture?

Mark Rauterkus, Erik Rauterkus, Ron Paul -- at an event in Northern Pittsburgh.

By Glenn Greenwald  Salon.com - May 29, 2010

One of the favorite self-affirming pastimes of establishment Democratic and Republican pundits is to mock anyone and everyone outside of the two-party mainstream as crazy, sick lunatics. That serves to bolster the two political parties as the sole arbiters of what is acceptable: anyone who meaningfully deviates from their orthodoxies are, by definition, fringe, crazy losers. Ron Paul is one of those most frequently smeared in that fashion, and even someone like Howard Dean, during those times when he stepped outside of mainstream orthodoxy, was similarly smeared as literally insane, and still is.


Last night, the crazy, hateful, fringe lunatic Ron Paul voted to repeal the Clinton-era Don't Ask, Don't Tell policy (or, more accurately, he voted to allow the Pentagon to repeal it if and when it chooses to) – while 26 normal, sane, upstanding, mainstream House Democrats voted to retain that bigoted policy. Paul explained today that he changed his mind on DADT because gay constituents of his who were forced out of the military convinced him of the policy's wrongness – how insane and evil he is!


In 2003, the crank lunatic-monster Ron Paul vehemently opposed the invasion of Iraq, while countless sane, normal, upstanding, good-hearted Democrats – including the current Vice President, Secretary of State, Secretary of Defense, Senate Majority Leader, House Majority Leader, the 2004 Democratic presidential nominee, and many of the progressive pundits who love to scorn Ron Paul as insane – supported the monstrous attack on that country.


In 2008, the sicko Ron Paul opposed the legalization of Bush's warrantless eavesdropping program and the granting of retroactive immunity to lawbreaking telecoms, while the Democratic Congress – led by the current U.S. President, his Chief of Staff, the Senate Majority Leader, the Speaker of the House, and the House Majority Leader – overwhelmingly voted it into law. Paul, who apparently belongs in a mental hospital, vehemently condemned America's use of torture from the start, while many leading Democrats were silent (or even supportive), and mainstream, sane Progressive Newsweek and MSNBC pundit Jonathan Alter was explicitly calling for its use. Compare Paul's February, 2010 emphatic condemnation of America's denial of habeas corpus, lawless detentions and presidential assassinations of U.S. citizens to what the current U.S. Government is doing.


The crazed monster Ron Paul also opposes the war in Afghanistan, while the Democratic Congress continues to fund it and even to reject timetables for withdrawal. Paul is an outspoken opponent of the nation's insane, devastating and oppressive “drug war” – that imprisons hundreds of thousands of Americans with a vastly disparate racial impact and continuously incinerates both billions of dollars and an array of basic liberties – while virtually no Democrat dares speak against it. Paul crusades against limitless corporate control of government and extreme Federal Reserve secrecy, while the current administration works to preserve it. He was warning of the collapsing dollar and housing bubble at a time when our Nation's Bipartisan Cast of Geniuses were oblivious. In sum, behold the embodiment of clinical, certifiable insanity: anti-DADT, anti-Iraq-war, anti-illegal-domestic-surveillance, anti-drug-war, anti-secrecy, anti-corporatism, anti-telecom-immunity, anti-war-in-Afghanistan.


There's no question that Ron Paul holds some views that are wrong, irrational and even odious. But that's true for just about every single politician in both major political parties (just look at the condition of the U.S. if you doubt that; and note how Ron Paul's anti-abortion views render him an Untouchable for progressives while Harry Reid's anti-abortion views permit him to be a Progressive hero and even Senate Majority Leader). My point isn't that Ron Paul is not crazy; it's that those who self-righteously apply that label to him and to others invariably embrace positions and support politicians at least as “crazy.” Indeed, those who support countless insane policies and/or who support politicians in their own party who do – from the Iraq War to the Drug War, from warrantless eavesdropping and denial of habeas corpus to presidential assassinations and endless war in the Muslim world – love to spit the “crazy” label at anyone who falls outside of the two-party establishment.


This behavior is partially driven by the adolescent/high-school version of authoritarianism (anyone who deviates from the popular cliques – standard Democrats and Republicans – is a fringe loser who must be castigated by all those who wish to be perceived as normal), and is partially driven by the desire to preserve the power of the two political parties to monopolize all political debates and define the exclusive venues for Sanity and Mainstream Acceptability. But regardless of what drives this behavior, it's irrational and nonsensical in the extreme.


I've been writing for several years about this destructive dynamic: whereby people who embrace clearly crazy ideas and crazy politicians anoint themselves the Arbiters of Sanity simply because they're good mainstream Democrats and Republicans and because the objects of their scorn are not. For me, the issue has nothing to do with Ron Paul and everything to do with how the “crazy” smear is defined and applied as a weapon in our political culture. Perhaps the clearest and most harmful example was the way in which the anti-war view was marginalized, even suppressed, in the run-up to the attack on Iraq because the leadership of both parties supported the war, and the anti-war position was thus inherently the province of the Crazies. That's what happens to any views not endorsed by either of the two parties.


Last week in Newsweek, in the wake of the national fixation on Rand Paul, Conor Friedersdorf wrote a superb article on this phenomenon. While acknowledging that Rand Paul's questioning of the Civil Rights Act (and other positions Paul holds) are “wacky” and deeply wrong, Friedersdorf writes:


Forced to name the “craziest” policy favored by American politicians, I'd say the multibillion-dollar war on drugs, which no one thinks is winnable. Asked about the most “extreme,” I'd cite the invasion of Iraq, a war of choice that has cost many billions of dollars and countless innocent lives. The “kookiest” policy is arguably farm subsidies for corn, sugar, and tobacco – products that people ought to consume less, not more. . . .


If returning to the gold standard is unthinkable, is it not just as extreme that President Obama claims an unchecked power to assassinate, without due process, any American living abroad whom he designates as an enemy combatant? Or that Joe Lieberman wants to strip Americans of their citizenship not when they are convicted of terrorist activities, but upon their being accused and designated as enemy combatants?


He goes on to note that “these disparaging descriptors are never applied to America's policy establishment, even when it is proved ruinously wrong, whereas politicians who don't fit the mainstream Democratic or Republican mode, such as libertarians, are mocked almost reflexively in these terms, if they are covered at all.” Indeed, this is true of anyone who deviates at all – even in tone – from the two-party orthodoxy, as figures as disparate as Dennis Kucinich, Noam Chomsky, Howard Dean or even Alan Grayson will be happy to tell you.


* * * * *


The reason this is so significant – the reason I'm writing about it again – is because forced adherence to the two parties' orthodoxies, forced allegiance to the two parties' establishments, is the most potent weapon in status quo preservation. That's how our political debates remain suffocatingly narrow, the permanent power factions in Washington remain firmly in control, the central political orthodoxies remain largely unchallenged. Neither party nor its loyalists are really willing to undermine the prevailing political system because that's the source of their power. And neither parties' loyalists are really willing to oppose serious expansions or abuses of government power when their side is in control, and no serious challenge is therefore ever mounted; the only ones who are willing to do so are the Crazies.


Thus, for the two parties to ensure that they, and only they, are recognized as Sane, Mainstream voices is to ensure, above all else, the perpetuation of status quo power. As Noah Millman insightfully pointed out this week, those on the Right and Left devoted to civil liberties and limitations on executive power find more common cause with each other than with either of the two parties' establishments. The same is true on a wide array of issues, including limitations on corporate influence in Washington and opposition to the National Security State.


That's why the greatest sin, the surest path to marginalized Unseriousness, is to stray from the safe confines of loyalty to the Democratic or Republican establishments. To our political class, Treason is defined as anyone who forms an alliance, even on a single issue, with someone in the Crazy Zone. That's because breaking down those divisive barriers can be uniquely effective in enabling ideologically diverse citizens to join together to weaken power factions, as Alan Grayson proved when he teamed up with Ron Paul to force the uber-secret Fed to submit to at least some version of an audit (backed by several leading progressives joining with Grover Norquist and other Crazies to support it), or as Al Gore proved when he brought substantial attention to Bush's war on the Constitution by forming an alliance with Bob Barr and other right-wing libertarians. Preventing (or at least minimizing) those types of ad hoc alliances through use of the Crazy smear ensures a divided and thus weakened citizenry against entrenched political power in the form of the two parties. Obviously, the more stigmatized it is to stray from two-party loyalty, the stronger the two parties (and those who most benefit from their dominance) will be.


If one wants to argue that Ron Paul and others like him hold specific views that are crazy, that's certainly reasonable. But those who make that claim virtually always hold views at least as crazy, and devote themselves to one of the two political parties that has, over and over, embraced insane, destructive and warped policies of their own. The reason the U.S. is in the shape it's in isn't because Ron Paul and the rest of the so-called ”crazies” have been in charge; they haven't been, at all. The policies that have prevailed are the ones which the two parties have endorsed. So where does the real craziness lie?


Just to preempt non sequiturs, this isn't a discussion of Ron Paul, but of the irrational use of the “crazy” accusation in our political discourse and the effects of its application.


I'll try this one more time: for those wanting to write about all the bad things Ron Paul believes, before going into the comment section, please read and then re-read these three sentences:


There's no question that Ron Paul holds some views that are wrong, irrational and even odious. But that's true for just about every single politician in both major political parties . . . My point isn't that Ron Paul is not crazy; it's that those who self-righteously apply that label to him and to others invariably embrace positions and support politicians at least as “crazy.”


This is a comparative assessment between (a) those routinely dismissed as Crazy and (b) the two party establishments and their Mainstream Loyalists who do the dismissing. Assessing (a) is completely nonresponsive and irrelevant without comparing it to (b).


One other point: intense, fixated mockery of marginalized, powerless people has the benefit of distracting attention from the actions of those who are actually in power.

By the way, there are few points where Ron Paul is wrong. It is said in the article that some of Ron Paul's views that are wrong, irrational and even odious. Which views are those, really? None are perfect. But, let's not agree that Ron Paul is irrational just to prove a point against the crazy handle.

196 Pittsburgh workers' pay tops $100K - Pittsburgh Tribune-Review

196 Pittsburgh workers' pay tops $100K - Pittsburgh Tribune-Review: "Last year, state Rep. Matt Smith, D-Mt. Lebanon, sponsored legislation to eliminate overtime from the pension equation. Smith estimated it could save the county's retirement fund $36 million over more than 20 years."

Thank goodness teachers do not get overtime. Otherwise, the state would be bankrupt already.

However, teacher overtime comes in the form of coaching duties. Some might argue that our sports programs in the city are bankrupt.

Regardless, teacher contracts do put coaching duties and that pay into the mix when calculating retirement pay.

It would be great if coaching was NOT part of the retirement formulation for pensions of teachers.

Obama to speak at Carnegie Mellon University on Wednesday - Pittsburgh Tribune-Review

Obama to speak at Carnegie Mellon University on Wednesday - Pittsburgh Tribune-Review: "President Obama is scheduled to visit Carnegie Mellon University on Wednesday, a White House official said Friday.
Congressman Mike Doyle, D-Forest Hills, said the president will talk about small businesses and the economy.
'He will be making similar stops across the state,' Doyle said.
More details about Obama's visit were to be made available today. The White House and university officials declined to provide a reason for the visit, its location and who would be allowed to attend."

Infinonymous

Infinonymous: "The Victorian brick manse at 5325 Wilkins Avenue in Pittsburgh contains six bedrooms and seven bathrooms among its 6,500 feet of living space on three-quarters of a high-end landscaped acre in the city's East End. Its current owner paid $1.2 million dollars for the property, but pays taxes on an assessed value of $625,000. This inaccuracy -- declared unconstitutional by the Pennsylvania Supreme Court, immoral by anyone with a conscience -- saves the owner nearly $3,000 annual in county property taxes, perhaps another $12,000 annually in school and municipal taxes."

City_Tourn - some photos from city volleyball finals

City_Tourn: "City_Tourn (51 images)"

Winter Classic -- Outdoor Hockey -- Let's see if we can think again.

The Penguins of the NHL could be playing outdoor hockey all winter long if they only kept the Civic Arena and opened the roof. Duhh.

So, we'll build a new arena and still not use it -- instead -- play a game at the football field.

I'd much rather see the Pittsburgh City League Championship game played at Heinz Field rather than the NHL's Penguins. The City League Title is played at South Side's Cupples Stadium.

I'd much rather see the city league team of Perry play its HOME football games on a gridiron set up at PNC Park too.

So, if the Steelers play a home game after January 1, 2011 -- then what????

Fw: Fwd: Pennsylvania's Elaborate Scheme against Free and Fair Elections

You betcha Ed! One of my suggested solutions is posted here.

I have a simple idea as a solution in part. In every uncontested election, the option of NONE OF THE ABOVE be put on the ballot automatically.

Mark R.

Sent on the Sprint® Now Network from my BlackBerry®

---

From: Ed Bortz <ebbortz@gmail.com>

Date: Thu, 27 May 2010 07:02:35 -0400

To: <mark@rauterkus.com>

Subject: Fwd: Pennsylvania's Elaborate Scheme against Free and Fair Elections

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Ed Bortz <ebbortz@gmail.com>
Date: Wed, May 26, 2010 at 3:33 PM
Subject: Pennsylvania's Elaborate Scheme against Free and Fair Elections
To: gppa-delegates-discuss@gpofpa.org, gppa-discussion@gpofpa.org, awc_discuss@googlegroups.com

http://seminal.firedoglake.com/diary/50946

 

Pennsylvania's Elaborate Scheme against Free and Fair Elections

by Ed Bortz, Green Party candidate for Congress, 14th District Pennsylvania (http://edbortzforcongress.org)

 

The system used to challenge ballot access petitions for candidates in Pennsylvania is fundamentally arbitrary and unfair. The process does not err on the side of registered voters who wish to support a candidate's right to be on the ballot, but rather, it favors the challenger of the candidate's petitions via an elaborate maze of "invalidating" criteria.(1)

Here are some of the pitfalls/issues that are used to invalidate voters who sign candidate ballot access petitions:

nicknames, middle initials, voter registration address (sometimes at odds with "place of residence" as the petition asks for), street names (particularly variations regarding numbered and directional streets), lack of a signature record in the statewide SURE voter database, reversing signature and printed name on the petition, differences between new mail addresses and previous Rural Route addresses, "illegible" signatures or addresses that may be arbitrary based on the reviewer's ability or bias.

A fundamental flaw of the ballot access "challenge" process is that the system relies almost exclusively on the challenger's "evidence" against the candidate.  In addition, the actual act of filing a challenge is commonly acknowledged to be the initiative of a competing candidate in the same election. This kind of system invites arbitrary even vindictive ballot access challenges.

The ballot access challenge process favors challengers with economic and legal resources to eliminate competing candidates of limited financial means. In addition, for candidates who defend their petitions in Pennsylvania courts, there is the ominous prospect of court imposed court costs and challenger lawyers' fees that the challenged candidate will be responsible for if his/her defense fails. This atmosphere of financial retribution discourages candidates from defending themselves if challenged, as well as discouraging independent and minor party candidates from even running.

A related but separate issue on ballot access, is the inequality between major party vs. minor party/political body/independent signature requirements.(2)

The year 2010 brought at least 88 ballot access challenges in Pennsylvania, primarily among the Democratic Party primary candidates. It appears that the challenge "virus" has moved into the main body politic of Pennsylvania adding to the chilling effect on democracy, free and fair elections.

An independent ballot access petition review and authorization commission made up of impartial major party, minor party, and independent voters would be an improvement over the present challenge process that Pennsylvania is presently burdened with.

Other ballot access reform measures are needed in Pennsylvania (PA Senate SB-252) in order to give minor parties with a modicum of support based on voter registration, the opportunity to run candidates through their convention process selections rather than by petitioning.

_________________

(1) Protocol for Signature Review, Aug 24, 2006, challenge on Carl Romanelli;

http://ebbortz.blogspot.com/2006/11/green-roots-harrisburg-blues.html

(2) 2010 signature requirements: U.S. Senate, Joe Sestak (D) 2000; Mel Packer (G) 19,082

2010 signature requirements: Congress 14th CD, Mike Doyle (D) 1000; Ed Bortz (G) 4847

*********************************************

BBC Sport - Disability Sports - Making the best even better

BBC Sport - Disability Sports - Making the best even better: "Taking charge of an already successful elite sporting programme might not seem like the toughest of jobs.
You have well-thought-out and researched plans and systems already in place, plus a pool of athletes with the potential to succeed although, in the race for medals, there is no room for complacency."

We could use the Civic Arena as a cornerstone to a new sports complex in Pittsburgh

The same thing can happen in Pittsburgh with the Civic Arena and the Consol Energy Center..

Portland Action Sports Complex and Resort | A Conceptual Vision

Portland Action Sports Complex and Resort | A Conceptual Vision: "The Rose Quarter, including both The Rose Garden and the historic Portland Memorial Coliseum, has long represented professional sports in Portland; residents and fans come to large, multi-functional buildings to watch professional athletes compete."

Boys High School Volleyball - Schenley, City Champions set for PIAA action

Martin, Jan, Christopher. Three sport athletes, each on teams that won the City Championships this year too.

Schenley High School's boys volleyball team, coach by Mr. Vitti, plays the first round of the PIAA tournament on Tuesday at 7 pm at Brashear High School. The Schenley Spartans play the loser of the WPIAL battle between North Allegheny and Fox Chapel. NA vs. FC is played on Friday night at LaRoche College.

Be there, at Brashear High School @ 7 p.m. The teams play a best of five game match.

The Schenley boys are going to Minutello's restaurant after school on Tuesday for a pregame pizza party. Their bus departs Reizenstein at 5:45 p.m. for the match.

The winner of the match on Tuesday heads to Penn State on Thursday to play on Friday at the PIAA Final Tournament.

The tickets for the game are $6 for adults and $3 for students. This goes to the PIAA.

Screening of documentary: GASLAND

Upcoming Pgh Event: Screening of Josh Fox's documentary, GASLAND

June 5, 2010 — 7–10pm | Doors open at 6:15 pm Cash bar | Live music by Smokestack Lightning Byham Theater, Pittsburgh, PA Free admission

Winner of The Special Jury Prize for Documentary at 2010 Sundance Film Festival, Josh Fox's GASLAND chronicles the largest natural gas boom in history.

Join Clean Water Action, the Center for Healthy Environments & Communities (CHEC) of the University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public Health, & many others as we follow Fox on his 24-state journey to uncover the deep consequences of natural gas drilling.

This free film screening will be followed by a panel discussion with Q&A. Contact CHEC for more information: chec@pitt.edu, 412-624-9379.Event flyer: http://www.chec.pitt.edu/images-t/GaslandFlyerforWeb-6-5-10.jpgBy Samantha Malone, MPH, CPH, Communications Specialist at University of Pittsburgh.

Democracy Rising Says.

he grand jury that spent the past two years investigating the legislature has reached the same conclusion as 72% of our citizens, our leading political columnists and dozens of the state's newspapers: PA must have a Constitution convention because the legislature is "utterly incapable of reforming itself."Click here  ( http://www.postgazette.com/pg/pdf/201005/20100525grandjuryreport.pdf ) to read the report and here  ( http://www.postgazette.com/pg/10145/1060594-454.stm ) for today's story by the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette's Tracie Mauriello.Questions:• Why hasn't Attorney General and Republican gubernatorial candidate Tom Corbett, who presented the evidence to the grand jury, reached the same conclusion?• Will Allegheny County Executive and Democratic gubernatorial candidate Dan Onorato make a Constitution convention a central part of his campaign?• What do your own representative and senator think of the grand jury's report? Do they agree or disagree with the grand jury?• Will your representative and senator let the people decide by putting a referendum for a convention on the ballot in November? Click here  ( http://www.drisingpa.com/petition/petition.php ) if you haven't already signed the petition for a referendum this fall.The grand jury's recommendations are sweeping, in some cases going even beyond what integrity advocates have discussed since the Pay Raise of 2005. In addition to a Constitution convention, the grand jury recommends:• Return to a part-time legislature with lower pay.• Change the terms of representatives from two years to four years.• Eliminate partisan caucuses.• Reduce staff by eliminating incompetents and ghost employees. The grand jury found that one caucus could reduce its staff by more than 60% without affecting legitimate operations.• Prohibit comp time for legislative staffers.• Ban legislative workers from campaign offices during working hours.• Prohibit staff from splitting time between legislative work and campaign work.• Cut constituent services in district offices that duplicate services already being provided by other agencies of government.• Prohibit campaign work on legislative time.• Eliminate leadership accounts that are not for specific purposes.• Limit lawmakers to one district office with satellites in public buildings.• Stop per diem abuse. To be clear, DR supports a convention to discuss improvements to more of state government than just the legislature. In our view, the executive and judicial branches need to be examined, as do issues such as qualifications for public office, local government reforms and the rights of independent and minor-party voters and candidates."Protect the Institution"It's a phrase that newly elected lawmakers hear from the beginning of their service. No matter what else happens, they are expected to "protect the institution." The institution, they are told, has been around for hundreds of years. It is the job of lawmakers to make sure that nothing happens to change the fundamental character of the legislature.New lawmakers are susceptible to this argument because they don't know that the fundamental character of the legislature has changed many times in the past. PA spent centuries with a part-time legislature before "professionalizing" into a full-time legislature in the 1970's. Our original 1776 Constitution, on the advice of former Speaker of the House Benjamin Franklin, also did not include a Senate. That wasn't added until 1790.As the movement for a Constitution convention grows, lawmakers are hearing this phrase again and again from their leaders. Publicly, some lawmakers want citizens to fear "unintended consequences," but what they really mean is that lawmakers themselves fear the intended consequences that the grand jury proposes and that the phrase "protect the institution" intends to prevent."Protect the institution" means protecting it from citizens who want a better and different legislature. It means protecting the pay, perks and power of those who are content with one of the most expensive, secretive, staff-heavy, and criminally prosecuted legislatures in America.Questions to ask your lawmakers:• "Protect the institution" from whom? Citizens?• "Protect the institution" for what? The status quo?• How does bringing the General Assembly into the 21st Century on matters of public integrity jeopardize the institution?• Whose institution is it, anyway?

Democracy Rising Pennsylvania can be reached at: P.O. Box 618, Carlisle, PA 17013
Sent on the Sprint® Now Network from my BlackBerry®