Afghanistan Water Polo's July 2010 Newsletter

Afghanistan Water Polo's July 2010 Newsletter: "It is amazing to think that my recent visit to Helmand Province, Afghanistan would result in the creation of another provincial swim and water polo team in Afghanistan. Lieutenant Joshua Pogue, a Marine who I worked with was the one who identified a pool aboard the Shorabak Garrisson. After many weeks of meetings and dissappointment, a team finally formed. What started with no water in the pool has now turned to five days a week of athletes practicing. Athletes are learning basic fundamentals of swimming and water polo,"

PA Budget insight fro EPLC Notebook of July 2, 2010

Sent on the Sprint® Now Network from my BlackBerry®

---

From: "Ron Cowell" <cowell@eplc.org>

Date: Fri, 02 Jul 2010 17:19:12 -0400

To: <cowell@eplc.org>

Subject: EPLC Education Notebook - 2010-2011 Budget Update - #10-22 - July 2, 2010

The Education Policy and Leadership Center

         800 North Third Street, Suite 408, Harrisburg, PA  17102

     717-260-9900     -     www.eplc.org

_________________________________________________________________

 

EPLC EDUCATION NOTEBOOK

Friday, July 2, 2010

 

SPECIAL 2010-2011 BUDGET UPDATE

 

The EPLC Education Notebook (current and past editions) also is available by visiting the EPLC website at www.eplc.org/ednotebook.html.

 

The Pennsylvania House of Representatives and Senate approved a budget for 2010-2011 on Wednesday, June 30, after reaching an agreement with Governor Rendell.  However, the Governor said he would not sign the budget bill until a package of legislation related to budget issues also was approved.

 

It is being reported this Friday afternoon that the Governor and legislative leaders have now agreed to the particulars of that package of related legislation.  The Governor’s Office has announce a tentative budget signing ceremony planned for Tuesday, July 6.

 

With the budget sent to the Governor on Wednesday, school districts would receive a basic education subsidy increase of $250 million, down from the $354.8 million increase that Gov. Rendell originally proposed.  While basic education funding is not at the level proposed by the Governor, Rendell called the increase significant.  He also noted that while support for the basic subsidy is increasing, the overall education budget was not held harmless and experienced significant cuts. 

 

The new budget includes a total General Fund spending level of $28.05 billion.  It also includes an agreement to enact a gas extraction tax by October 1, and is predicated on receiving $850 million in yet-to-be approved federal FMAP funds (Medicaid reimbursement to states).  If FMAP is not extended at the federal level, additional line items in the state budget would have to be placed in reserve.  This almost undoubtedly would mean a reduction in funds for basic education.

 

The budget agreement does not include revenue from four additional sources that were part of this year’s budget debate – a tax on cigars, a tax on smokeless tobacco, ending the discount for businesses that remit sales tax receipts on time, and revenue from closing the Delaware loophole for corporations.

 

For details on the education budget, please go to the House Appropriations Committee budget link below:

http://www.hacd.net/budget/201011/documents/Updated_HB2279PN3277_063010_9am.pdf

 

We’ll be sending more detailed analysis next week.

 

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

EPLC Education Notebook is published by The Education Policy and Leadership Center (EPLC).  Permission to reprint or electronically redistribute the Notebook in whole or in part is granted provided attribution to EPLC is provided.

 

The Education Policy and Leadership Center is an independent, non-partisan and not-for-profit organization. The Mission of EPLC is to encourage and support the enactment and implementation of effective state-level education policies in order to improve student learning in grades P-12, increase the effective operation of schools, and enhance educational opportunities for citizens of all ages.

 

Quote from: Way of the Peaceful Warrior

Pain is a relatively objective, physical phenomenon; suffering is our psychological resistance to what happens. Events may create physical pain, but they do not in themselves create suffering. Resistance creates suffering. Stress happens when your mind resists what is...The only problem in your life is your mind's resistance to life as it unfolds.

Dan Millman

In Blow to Bloomberg, City Must Keep 19 Failing Schools Open

In Blow to Bloomberg, City Must Keep 19 Failing Schools Open: "Because many eighth graders assumed the schools would be closed and the Education Department discouraged them from attending the schools, few applied. Some of the schools could begin September with just a few dozen freshmen. School officials said they expected enrollment to grow with students who move into the city, but the number will still likely be far smaller than in past years."

This sounds like Peabody, a bit. The school is going to close in a year. So, why start at Peabody in the fall of 2010 only to find another school in the fall of 2011 as a sophomore?

Fw: Article on ballot access intimidation

------Original Message------
From: Henry Haller
To: Mark Rauterkus
To: Titus North
Subject: Article on ballot access intimidation
Sent: Jul 1, 2010 9:40 PM

My article on the consequences of failing a petition challenge is now posted on The Point website (www.thepointpress.com).

-- -- Henry



Sent on the Sprint® Now Network from my BlackBerry®

Overboard Kraus

"We elected Bruce Kraus to be our city councilman because of his promises of 'Safe, Clean and Green.' Instead, Mr. Kraus has become our neighborhood dictator and is attempting to run the place into the ground."

Taxed Enough Already

Brand new video, just out today. And, this is their first ever music video too.

Concpet Mapping in Physical Education. Bonnie did a book on it.

Concept Mapping



Applications such as Kidspiration and Inspiration, both from Inspiration, help students to clarify, conceptualize, and communicate ideas through the development of graphic organizers. The programs allow users to structure their ideas either by creating an outline or using drawing tools. Either way a graphic is created that represents a concept or information. Students can use graphic organizers to demonstrate their understanding of physical education concepts. Some of the possible assessment ideas for graphic organizers include:


1. Depicting locomotor and nonlocomotor movements.


2. Depicting the components of health-related fitness.


3. Illustrating fundamental skills used in different sports.






Four popular types of graphic organizers include spider, hierarchy, relationship map, and systems map. The spider is organized by placing the central theme in the center of the map and then adding sub-themes around it. For example, the term Health-Related Fitness is placed in the center and the components of health-related fitness are added as the sub-themes. The venn diagram depicts similarities and differences. For example, it can show a comparison between offensive and defensive strategies, or a comparison between the sports of basketball and team handball. The relationship map links two or more concepts by words that describe their relationship. For example, volleyball is to team sports as badminton is to individual sports. This helps students learn in a more meaningful manner, taking in new information and integrating it into already known facts and concepts. The last category is the comparison map. This map also depicts similarities and differences. For example comparing practice for open and closed skills.


If you are interested in more information on using concept mapping in physical education, click here.

I like different software for concept maps. My favorite is a bit older, LifeMap. But, the free (gratis) utility is from Florida. Start reading: http://cmap.ihmc.us/publications/ResearchPapers/TheoryCmaps/TheoryUnderlyingConceptMaps.htm

Wandering

Wandering: "So I went to Ghana-Germany match."

Fw: PodCorps.org is Closing

It takes a good deal of courage to close down project. More than starting them I say.

Mark R
Sent on the Sprint® Now Network from my BlackBerry®

-----Original Message-----
From: Doug Kaye <doug@rds.com>
Date: Wed, 30 Jun 2010 23:00:57
To: <mark@rauterkus.com>
Subject: PodCorps.org is Closing

_______________________________________________________________

PodCorps.org is Closing
_______________________________________________________________

Sometime in the past three years you registered on our
PodCorps.org website, a place to match producers with audio and
video stringers around the world. Nearly 1,000 stringers have
joined PodCorps.org, but the website has not achieved the kind
of critical mass required to make it a success in anyone's book.
We have therefore decided to close the PodCorps.org website as
of July 5, 2010.

The reason we failed to reach that critical mass is rather
straightforward: We are spread too thin among multiple projects
and didn't commit the resources required for PodCorps.org's
success. The Conversations Network has a very small budget and
depends entirely on volunteers. And while you and others
supported the concept by registering on the website, we were not
able to recruit a volunteer team to manage and promote
PodCorps.org.

I want to personally thank you for your participation and
support of the PodCorps.org concept. I only wish we had the
resources to fulfill our side of the bargain. The Conversations
Network's other projects (SpokenWord.org and our proprietary
podcast channels) get all of our attention and are doing quite
well, but we need to accept our limitations in order to ensure
our successful projects continue without distraction.


_______________________________________________________________

MEDIAmobz: An Introduction
_______________________________________________________________

For those of you in the video world, I want to use this
opportunity to introduce a somehwat different alternative to
PodCorps.org. We have a long standing friendship with a
for-profit company called MEDIAmobz. They have a network of
producers that provide video production services for the
business market via partners such as Business Wire and Cisco. As
PodCorps.org is closing, we thought you might want to sign up
with MEDIAmobz as a way to find video production jobs around the
world.

Dave Toole, founder and CEO of MEDIAmobz passed along this note:

"Thanks for considering joining our producer community at
MEDIAmobz. We provide you free tools to post your video reels
and links to your work to help market your capabilities to the
business market. We have provided dozens of clients turn key
video solutions for business story telling. We do not charge
clients to post jobs and only charge a small fee when they have
agreed to hire a production resource. We hope that we are able
to help provide an easier way for clients to connect with
creative resources to help them tell their story. Please have a
look around and let us know what we can do to help you in
providing your services."

MEDIAmobz:
http://newsletters.conversationsnetwork.org/rd/9z1zeh9cbig5s3v2n6h1hoaeife00c0mqh3ijr8usd0


_______________________________________________________________

Public Media Opportunities
_______________________________________________________________

For those of you interested in public radio or TV in the U.S.,
here are some additional related sites you should check out:

Public Media Corps (PMC):
http://newsletters.conversationsnetwork.org/rd/9z1zglosumugqphqecpe3ncd1t58bi7s75km1js4vn0

Public Radio Exchange (PRX.org):
http://newsletters.conversationsnetwork.org/rd/9z1z53412grbqkdefmetui4ak67b9esel6ibrtrjubo

Association of Independents in Radio (AIR):
http://newsletters.conversationsnetwork.org/rd/9z1z7r8qq20l8na2h096iv0n4f4q91hemjqahbpa9sg

Transom.org:
http://newsletters.conversationsnetwork.org/rd/9z1zde4e6uedgjbmn8q06tag2lvauhhqkvvch8ouf1o


_______________________________________________________________

Thanks for listening.

...doug

Doug Kaye, Executive Director
The Conversations Network

_______________________________________________________________

Subscription and Contact Info
_______________________________________________________________

This newsletter from The Conversations Network was sent to
mark@rauterkus.com.

Forward to a friend:
http://newsletters.conversationsnetwork.org/f2f/9z1zbnds333slhai69nh4pe6vo4s4ouru3qnljsqsvo

To unsubscribe:
http://newsletters.conversationsnetwork.org/rd/9z1zlbu8g15908be29hihkmea04fu077fos7b803b3o

©2010 The Conversations Network
A California 501(c)(3) Public Benefit Corporation
Postal requests: 113 Terrace Ave., Kentfield, CA 94904
Powered by iPost <http://www.ipost.com/>

Macy's puts Downtown building on the market

Macy's puts Downtown building on the market: "Macy's joins a growing list of buildings for sale Downtown. They include the Gateway Center complex, the Oliver Building, the Regional Enterprise Tower, the EQT Tower, and the American Red Cross building."

Put the Civic Arena on that list too. Also, PA wants to sell the State Office Building, right? The Downtown YMCA's old building went to Point Park recently too. Then there is the sale of the Ft. Pitt Museum.

Fw: DR News: Accountability & Hypocrisy, Part 2 - Today's Budget

Sent on the Sprint® Now Network from my BlackBerry®

---

From: Democracy Rising PA <tim@democracyrisingpa.com>

Date: Wed, 30 Jun 2010 13:15:29 -0400 (EDT)

To: <mark.rauterkus@gmail.com>

Subject: DR News: Accountability & Hypocrisy, Part 2 - Today's Budget

Democracy Rising Pennsylvania

UNSUBSCRIBE HERE Accountability & Hypocrisy, Part 2 - Today's Budget Today the legislature is expected to suspend the rules and vote to approve a budget that makes deep cuts into nearly every part of state government except the place that already has a $180 million surplus – the House and Senate. What did you expect? According to a printout of the budget proposal obtained from the House Democratic Caucus: The House takes a cut of just 0.6% ($1,049,000 from a budget of $184,630,000) The Senate takes a cut of just 0.1% ($119,000 from a budget of $92,075,000) Legislative Service Agencies take a cut of just 1% ($93,000 from a budget of $9,268,000) "Legislative Miscellaneous," however, increases by 19.3% ($2,520,000 on top of a $13,053,000 budget for this year). The increase is due almost entirely to $2.4 million in new spending for the Legislative Reapportionment Commission. This commission, consisting of four legislative leaders and a fifth person of their choosing, will re-draw legislative districts in 2011, following this year's census. Ten years ago, this commission gave PA the second-most-gerrymandered legislative districts in America. Since then, lawmakers have rejected every attempt to improve upon this tawdry performance. Missed Opportunity for Savings As the 28th Statewide Investigating Grand Jury revealed, the legislature easily could reduce its budget by at least a$60 million through staff cuts and streamlined operations. Click here  for the May 25 edition of DR News. The Surplus In fact, with such small cuts to their operations, the House and Senate are on track to increase their surplus from $180 million to more than $200 million by this time next year if they enact any significant reforms recommended by the 28th Statewide Investigating Grand Jury (below). That's what they did last year, when they over-budgeted for themselves so that they could restore $67 million of the $87 million they spent during the budget impasse. In other words, rather than spending down their surplus, they added to it. And so it continues this year. Click here  for an edition of DR News about that. The Budget Process No one can be surprised that lawmakers waited until the last possible minute to negotiate the budget and now will suspend the rules to pass it before citizens can object to the most profligate legislature in America feathering their own nests again while others suffer. In part, this is because the budget process doesn't apply to them. Each year after the governor presents a proposed budget, lawmakers hold public hearings where cabinet officers and others must defend their budget requests, line item by line item. But there never is a time in the budget process when lawmakers have to discuss and justify their own budgets to the public. Questions Why do voters allow the legislature continue to hoard at least $180 million while cutting programs that benefit citizens? Why doesn't the budget of the legislature have to undergo the same scrutiny applied to state agencies in the executive branch? What do gubernatorial candidates Tom Corbett and Dan Onorato think of this display of fiscal arrogance and hypocrisy? Will they make budget reform a key part of their campaigns and service in office?   Please support DR's work with a tax-deductible contribution. Click here  to donate online or find our mailing address. Thanks! Democracy Rising Pennsylvania abides by strict NO-SPAM rules. Please read our Privacy Policy for more details. We can be reached at: P.O. Box 618, Carlisle, PA 17013  © Democracy Rising Pennsylvania 2001-2010. All Rights Reserved. Powered by the Action Potential Nonprofit Web Toolkit

PA, you break my heart. Stroke, stroke, stroke.

Regular Session 2009-2010 House Bill 816 P.N. 3316 : "Establishing State funding for the Heart Disease and Stroke Program within the Department of Health."

Starting to figure out the local bike race scene

Erik rode in the Tuesday night bike race at the oval tonight with the Juniors and Women's race. He got 22nd in a field of 31. But, he was only 7 seconds behind the winner. He was wise and didn't sprint at the end. He didn't even shift in the entire race. He was on my bike and at the start line was asking for the seat to be lowered. He left the race with all his skin -- and for that I'm very happy.

There is more. One toe clip was never made tight, blah, blah, blah.

He did great.

In a season, he could own that race.

We have to upgrade our equipment. Only one of our bikes has drop bars and Grant's bike isn't legal with its staight and forward part extension.

I've got to get in shape and ride too.

Cassidy: Linux could ease schools' tech crunch - San Jose Mercury News

I wish PPS would use Linux. I think it is absurd that the Sci Tech School does not use Linux.

Cassidy: Linux could ease schools' tech crunch - San Jose Mercury News... The answer for local schools facing daunting technology challenges lies with the penguins.
You know, penguins — those who worship free and open-source software, including Linux and the operating system's mascot, a penguin named Tux.
I've been hearing from the penguins since I wrote recently that if Silicon Valley CEOs want the state to improve K-12 education, then they should take a bigger role in helping those schools deploy classroom technology from this century.

Furthermore, everyone should be using OpenOffice.org software and tossing out Microsoft Office.
Here we go!

Fw: WAIVE THE JONES ACT -- SAVE THE GULF! Go Dutch!

Sent on the Sprint® Now Network from my BlackBerry®

-----Original Message-----
From: "Tom Schatz, President, CAGW" <cagwpresident@cagw.org>
Date: Mon, 28 Jun 2010 16:17:22
To: <mark@rauterkus.com>
Reply-To: "Tom Schatz, President, CAGW" <cagwpresident@cagw.org>
Subject: WAIVE THE JONES ACT -- SAVE THE GULF!

Citizens Against Government Waste


Dear Mark,

President Obama is refusing to allow the use
of state-of-the-art equipment that could dramatically help clean up
the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico and save the fragile Gulf Coast
marshlands and beaches.

I need your help today to force him to
act. Let me explain.

Within days of the explosion on BP's
Deepwater Horizon rig in the Gulf of Mexico, the Dutch, who have
worked in Louisiana since Hurricane Katrina, offered the services of
their high-tech oil skimming ships. The Dutch government has
particular expertise in cleaning up oil spills,and they require
oil rigs off their coast to respond to any leakage within 12 hours.

In addition, the Dutch, who are the most
experienced people on earth in building dikes, offered President Obama
assistance in building sand barriers to protect the pristine Gulf
coastline, sensitive marshlands, and wildlife.

However, in response to both offers,
President Obama said NO!

Why would he say no? Because it would
require him to waive the Jones Act.

The Jones Act is a 1920s-era law that
protects the U.S. domestic merchant marine industry -- and its unions
-- from competition by mandating that all cargo and passengers shipped
between U.S. seaports be carried on U.S.-flag vessels using U.S.
crews. Even without the spill, this protectionist measure costs
our economy an estimated $3.1 billion per year.

If President Obama would waive the Jones Act,
as President Bush did in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, millions
of gallons of oil and sludge could be swept from the sea and miles of
beaches and marshlands and their birds and fish could be protected,
ultimately helping preserve commerce and American jobs along the Gulf
Coast.

Yet, back in April when the spill occurred
and again on June 15 when President Obama delivered his Oval Office
address to the nation on the oil spill, he bowed to the wishes of his
union supporters and refused to even consider issuing an Executive
Order to suspend the Jones Act. Instead, the President exploited
the disaster to once again push for his job-killing cap-and-trade
energy tax that would devastate the economy and do NOTHING to solve
the immediate crisis in the Gulf.

In short, President Obama andBig
Labor's union bosses care more about protecting a few union maritime
jobs than the environment or the millions of Americans who are losing
their economic livelihoods due to this environmental disaster.

So the Gulf, its residents, environment, and
wildlife continue to suffer while President Obama cozies up in
Washington with his union boss buddies!

Mark, CAGW is launching a
national effort to shame the President into waiving the Jones Act to
dramatically accelerate the Gulf clean-up efforts, and I need to ask
you to make an Emergency Waive the Jones Act -- Save the Gulf
contribution to support this drive today

http://membership.cagw.org/site/R?i=rTKtknMXY4y8mQkJQduO5w..

.

I believe if hundreds of newspapers and radio
and television stations start running stories about how President
Obama is more concerned with protecting labor unions than he is with
preserving the environment and livelihoods of those living along the
Gulf, the pressure to waive the Jones Act will become
overwhelming.

Your contribution of $25

http://membership.cagw.org/site/R?i=sxTEH8QOwaLz_nwecZOiGA..

, $35,

http://membership.cagw.org/site/R?i=i5mJBNxE6Qn-GXfgJtJmvg..

$50

http://membership.cagw.org/site/R?i=YhjOc1OvX15ISLxJasarIQ..

, or even$100

http://membership.cagw.org/site/R?i=kYvjMXhNblgSAjTGJg80uA..

today will enable us to feed the facts and figures to the media
about how waiving the Jones Act can dramatically help clean up the
Gulf. For example, Coast Guard Admiral Thad Allen has stated
that more than 2,000 skimmers, including foreign-flag vessels,
are currently operating off the coasts of the United States and
could be used in the Gulf, yet Florida officials have reported that
just 32 skimmers are deployed off their coastline.

Further, your financial support will help us
publicize how President Obama is not doing all he can to help the
residents of the Gulf Coast and is putting the interests of his union
supporters first.

Mark, last week, millions of
more gallons of oil gushed into the Gulf of Mexico after an undersea
robot bumped a venting system and forced BP to remove a cap that had
been containing some of the crude. Still, President Obama never
once mentioned waiving the Jones Act!

Your contribution is vital if we are to
generate media interest and build the overwhelming public outcry
necessary to force the President to buck his union supporters and
waive the Jones Act. So please, make an Emergency Waive the
Jones Act -- Save the Gulf contribution today

http://membership.cagw.org/site/R?i=HvBZlGN_MasUj0thcSUbxw..

. With your help, we can win this all-out battle to save the
Gulf Coast. But the clock is ticking, the oil is flowing, and I
need to hear from you today.

Sincerely,

Thomas A. Schatz
President

P.S. Mark, CAGW is not the only
critic of President Obama's failure to waive the Jones
Act. A number of Gulf Coast lawmakers have publicly called for a
waiver, and former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin recently told FOX
News' Bill O'Reilly: "The Dutch, they are
known, and the Norwegians, they are known for...dikes and for
cleanup water and for dealing with spills. They offered to help
and yet no, they...can't even get a phone call back, that is what
the Norwegians are telling us and the Dutch are telling us." To
generate massive media coverage and rally the millions of Americans it
will take to overcome the powerful unionsand force President
Obama to waive the Jones Act, I urge you to make an Emergency Waive
the Jones Act -- Save the Gulf contribution

http://membership.cagw.org/site/R?i=kBwmgB_9ij_cA07Gln5WzQ..

of $25

http://membership.cagw.org/site/R?i=Blrajc9vLnVZjgBP2cOG_w..

, $35,

http://membership.cagw.org/site/R?i=2QYQjTavUy-4SxZwCyaUxA..

$50

http://membership.cagw.org/site/R?i=uDuoEEkTA2Zwu32Pih9cAA..

, or even$100

http://membership.cagw.org/site/R?i=KxOoL-cCdhA5LVVeJ-nmVA..

today.

***
Citizens Against Government Waste is the nation's largest taxpayer
watchdog group with more than one million members and supporters
nationwide. It is a 501(c)(3) nonpartisan, nonprofit
organization dedicated to eliminating waste, fraud, abuse, and
mismanagement in government. Contributions to CAGW are
tax-deductible as charitable contributions to the extent permitted by
law. For more information about CAGW, visit our website at
www.cagw.org
http://membership.cagw.org/site/R?i=9LOao8Vuf7ivJokv2i8I3Q..

. Makea contribution to help us force President Obama to
waive the Jones Act!

http://membership.cagw.org/site/R?i=gdDvHmQVF9PVpQGma1dCiA..

Please helpus spread the word about how suspending the Jones Act
could help clean up the oil spill in the Gulf and get residents that
depend on the Gulf back to work.Forward this message to a
friend.
http://membership.cagw.org/site/R?i=6nhQKeq6wfnksJPdfEhCtw..




Unsubscribe from receiving email, or change your email preferences.
http://membership.cagw.org/site/CO?i=Zqh3AcyO_3LV7J3sK8gOd3gK3Op1D3Ul&cid=0

Bicycle Sizing for Mark Rauterkus

Inseam: 83.8cm 33.0"

Shoe: 10.5

Torso: 154.9 cm, 61.0"

Arm: 60.9cm 24.0"

Category: Mountain Bike Sport

Frame Size: 78.1cm or 30.7"

Top Tube: 58.0cm or 22.8"

Stem: 105.0mm - 130.0mm

Intial seat height: 34.6" - 35.4"

Yes! Barbie is a Libertarian?

Is Barbie a Libertarian?

Where do I sign up? I want to be a member of "The BEST Party."

Inspired political video.

The Saturday Profile - Icelander’s Campaign Is a Joke, Until He’s Elected - Biography - NYTimes.com: "Last month, in the depressed aftermath of the country’s financial collapse, the Best Party emerged as the biggest winner in Reykjavik’s elections, with 34.7 percent of the vote, and Mr. Gnarr — who also promised a classroom of kindergartners he would build a Disneyland at the airport — is now the fourth mayor in four years of a city that is home to more than a third of the island’s 320,000 people."

Do watch the video to the end and read the full article.

The American Spectator : AmSpecBlog : U.S. Soccer: Technically Czar-Free, and Winning

The American Spectator : AmSpecBlog : U.S. Soccer: Technically Czar-Free, and Winning: "Here's something I didn't realize in '06: some countries really do have soccer czars. Not just the Chinas of the world, either, but free and soccer-crazed countries. For instance, while reading this New York Times article about France's World Cup experience devolving into nation-wide racial discord (really), I was surprised to learn that France has a 'Sports Minister' and a 'junior sports minister,' both of whom Sarkozy called on the carpet and ordered 'to rapidly learn the lessons of this disaster' after France's ignominious World Cup exit."

This is very funny to me. Just look back at the success with Team USA in the recent winter Olympics in Canada. The USA leadership has been in storm after storm in the past years. There has been a merry-go-round with USA's top leadership -- and -- the team thrived in terms of medals and overall victories.

We don't need any czars in America. They don't work, generally.