Fw: Lawyers are the problem..not the solution

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From: "Bob Logue" <ucblogue@verizon.net>

Date: Wed, 24 Nov 2010 18:29:57 -0500

To: <Undisclosed-Recipient>

Subject: Lawyers are the problem..not the solution

You know, Bob, I've been thinking. We, as a country, need to stop electing attorneys to govern us. Think about it, every bill proposed is 2000 pages or more. Why? Because they are written by attorneys. Lawyers only know legal speak, so just like the religious hierarchy 1000 years ago told every one that only they could interpret the Holy Scriptures, politicians today tell us only they can understand the law, so we must have them or we would be lost. The convoluted property tax laws play totally into the hands of our politician attorneys in that,  every facet  of these laws involves an attorney of one type or another. Attorneys are like doctors: they support one another, they protect one another, and they get as many of their own involved in a case so that as many of them as possible  make money or increase power.

     We can never hope to break this strangle hold on the public until we stop putting lawyers in charge. We need to start electing plumbers, truck drivers, bank tellers, firemen, Wal-Mart associates, farmers, janitors; in short, normal everyday people who have had to live day to day, keep on a strict budget, maybe get to go on a vacation once every ten years, you know, Common People. Successful business people who have met a payroll, kept up with technology, kept good employees happy, and produced a product or service people want, could guide the country in the direction it needs to go.

     If we are to solve this issue of property taxes, we must first have politicians who are sympathetic to the everyday problems of the common people. Obviously, the current ruling class does not care that the poor and elderly are being dispossessed, as long as they can hold onto their power and they hold the purse strings. Attorneys live in their own little bubble, making more than enough income to cover their needs. They have no feel for the rest of the world. Until "we, the people" realize how this affects us, we cannot win our point about the unfairness of property taxes. I hope you will share this viewpoint, if not this message, with all who read about STOP. Bob, I must applaud your personal efforts against this heinous tax. You are our leader and mentor, God bless you and yours. Hope to see you soon somewhere, Ray Fallon, Punxsutawney, PA

New People article on Sports Reform for PPS

School reform’s next chapter: Sports

by Mark Rauterkus, water polo coach and member of the PPS Athletic Reform Task Force, Mark@Rauterkus.com

Serious changes to the scholastic sports landscape in Pittsburgh are brewing. The City League may try to fold its teams into the ranks of the WPIAL. The City League, also known as PIAA’s Division VIII, includes all the high schools of Pittsburgh Public Schools: Allderdice, Brashear, Perry, Schenley, Peabody, Westinghouse, Langley, Oliver, Pgh Obama, Sci-Tech, U-Prep and CAPA. The WPIAL (Western Pennsylvania Interscholastic League, see WPIAL.org) is PIAA (see PIAA.org.) District VII. 

With the exception of the private schools (Central, Oakland, Winchester Thurston, Ellis) the WPIAL circles the city’s borders.

If the city teams join the WPIAL, city and suburban athletes get to compete on a daily and weekly basis, not just at exhibition games and state playoffs.

Some might say the City League is to the WPIAL as a doughnut hole is to the doughnut, both in terms of geography and overall sporting opportunities and programs. The city teams have a few outstanding programs and athletes, but all in all, the city needs an overhaul to match the competitive standards of the WPIAL programs.

Some are elated with the realization of a possible move to the WPIAL for city student-athletes. Allow PPS schools a chance to play and compete on a daily basis with suburban schools. The idea has been promoted for more than a decade, and with the closing of Schenley, Peabody, South Vo Tech, and other schools throughout the decades, the move is necessary as so few teams exist and school spirit has never been worse. The City League’s termination has been platform planks from a few candidates too. 

Ken Miller wrote in an email, in part, after this news hit the Post-Gazette on Oct 6, 2010, “This will be a difficult issue for Pittsburgh's African American community. There will be some who speak out in opposition.  I think a joining of the City League and WPIAL will be GREAT for race relations in Western PA and provide greater opportunities for PPS students.  I urge B-PEP to be a strong voice in support of merging the City League and WPIAL and to do so soon.  It hits on the key issues of integration and residential segregation.  It forces white people to deal with their perceptions and the reality of inner city youth.  

“Every season when Pittsburgh City School athletes, and bands and cheerleaders are not traveling through out Western PA to participate in sporting events is a step backwards.  We should be part of demanding that our merger into WPIAL happen immediately and that the details be worked out/adjustments made within the context of a full merger.  

The decision about a full merger with WPIAL rests solely with the PPS Board - they could force this to happen immediately by returning their PIAA Charter.  Everything about negotiating with PIAA or the WPIAL leadership is bogus and missing the point.  The PPS Board is empowered to make this happen and they should do so assertively. 

Competitive balance has been a top problem within the City League. The disparity with big schools playing many games against small schools is troublesome. The AAAA (quad A) schools don’t match up well with A (single A) schools. Neither side wins as that happens.

None win when the competitive balance is wrong. In-house comfort and geographical competitors are not keys to long-term sports success. Having big PPS schools (Allderdice and Brashear) playing small schools (Langley, Westinghouse, Sci-Tech, U-Prep) is rotten competitive balance. Thankfully, that chapter in Pittsburgh’s sports scene can come to a close.

When conditions are not fair, people “tune out” and “vote with their feet.” PPS enrollment and PPS sports participation plummeted. A measure of fairness needs to exist in sports or else it isn’t fun, challenging, nor worthy.

One benefit of the merger with the WPIAL is membership size. There are plenty of tiny, small, medium and mega schools within the WPIAL. With rivals of similar size, the play is more fun because of competitive balance.

To illustrate, consider the NCAA and its balance with Division I programs, such as Pitt and Penn State, Division II programs such as Slippery Rock and IUP, and Division III programs such as CMU, Chatham and Carlow. It would be ridiculous if Pitt’s schedule was filled with games against CMU, Chatam and Carlow. Pitt’s sports teams are not in the same league as Carlow. On athletic fields, Pitt and Carlow are far apart, yet the schools are neighbors in physical geography. Likewise, the Perry High School Commodores should not schedule games with the Pittsburgh Pirates. Closeness provides nothing regarding promising athletic competitors.

Departing the City League and landing within the WPIAL could backfire if the city implements an extensive plan of “Co-op Teams.” The newer 6-12 grade PPS school devoted to IB academics, Pgh Obama, an outbirth of the death of Schenley, is a small school. Sports teams form Pgh Obama could rock up and down the WPIAL seasons across many sports if it ges placed into its proper classification. Meanwhile, the prospects of Pgh Obama amount to a misery with the sustained coop where the athletes from three schools play under one banner: Pgh Obama + Sci-Tech + U-Prep. When the three schools are pressed together into co-op teams, they enter the WPIAL and must play giant schools such as Seneca Valley, Woodland Hills and North Allegheny every match. That’s a train wreck that can’t be allowed.

PPS schools could have five girl teams with five starters per team so that 25 kids around the city can claim to be first team varsity basketball players. Or, PPS schools could be fortunate to have 11 teams with 55 student athletes making the same claim. Should we have 25 or 55? We win by addition in sports. Every school should have its own sports opportunities without making coops.

Coops have been in place at two junctures within the PPS. Since the formation of U-Prep and Sci-Tech, the athletes there who want to play varsity sports have been shifted to the teams of Schenley/Pgh Obama. Problem is, the shifting didn’t happen. Students don’t want to play. Participation is terrible. Research has proven that the coops that exist have been a failure for the students -- so that should not be repeated. But some are pushing the crazy options to make every Pittsburgh school enter into coops for their sports teams. School spirit, common sense and competitive balance demand otherwise.

See chart:

Insert one chart from this posting.

http://rauterkus.blogspot.com/2010/11/what-if-city-league-sports-teams-merged.html

In some sports, such as soccer, there are three classifications. In other sports, such as basketball, there are presently four. The smallest schools are Single A. The largest are Quad A. The smallest schools are listed at the top of the list. The largest schools at the bottom. 

Pittsburgh Allderdice and Pittsburgh Brashear are big schools. No matter what, those teams from those schools would play in the bigger classification against the other giant schools in Western PA: Norwin, North Hills, Mt. Lebo.

But Pittsburgh has a number of smaller schools. Unlike the present city league, the teams at Langley, Oliver, Westinghouse would NOT need to play against the soccer powerhouse Allderdice and the over-reaching Schenley. Unless, of course, the ugly plan of coops is put into place. Then the kids at Langley would play with Brashear and face off with the big schools. And if Westinghouse joins with Allderdice, as one of the plans option reads, they would be playing against the bigger schools as well.

Kids from Pgh Westinghouse and Pgh Langley don't want to play all their soccer games against teams from Hempfield and Seneca Valley. The WPIAL kids play soccer year round. Those kids play with their soccer mates for years as they grow and develop in their respective soccer programs and reach varsity status in their high school teams. Programs are not as developed in the city.

Smaller city schools have some talented players. But, the smaller schools don't have a full bench of year-round players. Often, varsity athletes at smaller schools get to play two or three sports per year where the players at the larger schools are often more devoted to a single sport and play year-round in that sport with camps, club programs and specific conditioning.

If Pgh Obama is forced to hook up in a coop with Pgh Sci-Tech and Pgh U-Prep. Then the side goes against Plum, Penn Hills and North Allegheny in every match. Getting a single win might be impossible.

Example of a merger for Boys Basketball Classifications (4 classes)

Single A

Trinity Christian, 38

Eden Christian, 49

Geibel Catholic, 67

Quigley Catholic, 68

Mapletown, 69

Saint Joseph, 72

Avella, 80

Vincentian, 84

Elderton, 91

North Catholic, 98

Western Beaver, 98

Cornell, 99

Winchester Thurston, 102

Jefferson Morgan, 104

Monessen, 106

Sewickley Academy, 108

Union, 112

West Greene, 112

Lincoln Park Charter, 113

OLSH, 115

Leechburg, 116

Clairton, 124

Carmichaels, 125

Rochester, 125

Serra Catholic, 128

Pgh CAPA boys, 128

Bentworth, 136

Double AA

California, 140

Springdale, 141

Aliquippa, 148

Chartiers Houston, 148

Bethlehem Center, 149

Avonworth, 150

Neshannock, 150

Pgh Sci Tech, 150

Wilkinsburg, 155

Frazier, 157

Jeannette, 158

Sto-Rox, 160

Brentwood, 162

Fort Cherry, 162

Riverview, 165

South Side, 171

Pgh Westinghouse, 171

Bishop Canevin, 175

Carlynton, 176

Northgate, 176

Shenango, 177

Pgh Oliver, 183

Burgettstown, 188

Pgh Langley, 188

Laurel, 189

Greensburg Central Catholic, 190

Pgh U-Prep, 190

Seton LaSalle, 199

Apollo Ridge, 202

Mohawk, 207

Shady Side Academy, 213

West Shamokin, 218

Riverside, 219

Brownsville, 222

Freedom, 225

Pgh Obama, 225

South Allegheny, 230

Charleroi, 233

Steel Valley, 241

Ellwood City, 245

Ford City, 245

Quaker Valley, 246

Beaver Falls, 247

Summit Academy, 248

Freeport, 250

New Brighton, 252

Triple A

Burrell, 254

Southmoreland, 261

Washington, 263

South Fayette, 266

Deer Lakes, 267

Waynesburg Central, 267

Beaver, 279

East Allegheny, 282

Mount Pleasant, 285

Pgh CAPA girls, 285

Keystone Oaks, 296

Yough, 309

McGuffey, 317

Valley, 318

Blackhawk, 321

Derry, 321

South Park, 321

Highlands, 325

Kittanning, 325

Pgh Perry, 333

Indiana, 336

Central Valley, 339

Pgh U-Prep + Pgh Sci-Tech, 340

Belle Vernon, 346

Elizabeth Forward, 353

Pgh CAPA boys + Pgh Obama, 353

Hopewell, 356

Thomas Jefferson, 358

New Castle, 360

Ambridge, 366

Uniontown, 375

Mars, 378

Knoch, 380

Greensburg Salem, 387

West Allegheny, 389

Pgh Carrick, 392

Pgh Obama + Pgh Westinghouse, 396

Hampton, 399

Montour, 403

West Mifflin, 406

Ringgold, 418

Trinity, 429

Quad A Classification

Chartiers Valley, 447

Moon, 465

Laurel Highlands, 481

Albert Gallatin, 482

Franklin Regional, 498

Pgh Perry + Pgh Oliver, 516

Peters Township, 541

Pgh Brashear, 558

Greater Latrobe Senior, 560

Upper Saint Clair, 560

Kiski, 565

Woodland Hills, 565

Pgh Obama + Pgh Sci-Tech + Pgh U-Prep, 565

Plum, 568

Canon McMillan, 577

McKeesport, 578

Pine-Richland, 595

Gateway, 606

Fox Chapel, 610

Penn Trafford, 610

North Hills, 619

Pgh Allderdice, 625

Baldwin, 641

Connellsville, 643

Mount Lebanon, 658

Bethel Park, 665

Norwin, 666

Central Catholic, 670

Shaler, 677

Penn Hills, 686

Pgh Langley + Pgh Brashear, 746

Hempfield, 792

Pgh Allderdice + Pgh Westinghouse, 796

Seneca Valley, 899

North Allegheny, 984

Butler, 1107

Erik presented his LTP (long term project) from last year at Duquesne Univ today for other PPS students in CAS

Here are the slides from Erik's presentation:

LTP of Erik Rauterkus, then in 9th grade:

View more presentations from Mark Rauterkus.

Had a great day with the students. I got to see five presentations. Erik gave his in the first period.

Fw: The Benefits of Weight Training for Kids

Sent on the Sprint® Now Network from my BlackBerry®

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From: Fred Gohh <fgohh@gbsware.com>

Date: Wed, 24 Nov 2010 08:14:51 -0500

To: <undisclosed-recipients>

ReplyTo: fgohh@gbsware.com

Subject: The Benefits of Weight Training for Kids

By GRETCHEN REYNOLDS

Back in the 1970s, researchers in Japan studied child laborers and discovered that, among their many misfortunes, the juvenile workers tended to be abnormally short. Physical labor, the researchers concluded, with its hours of lifting and moving heavy weights, had stunted the children’s growth. Somewhat improbably, from that scientific finding and other similar reports, as well as from anecdotes and accreting myth, many people came to believe “that children and adolescents should not” practice weight training, said Avery Faigenbaum, a professor of exercise science at the College of New Jersey. That idea retains a sturdy hold in the popular imagination. As a recent position paper on the topic of children and resistance training points out, many parents, coaches and pediatricians remain convinced that weight training by children will “result in short stature, epiphyseal plate” — or growth plate — “damage, lack of strength increases due to a lack of testosterone and a variety of safety issues.”

Kids, in other words, many of us believe, won’t get stronger by lifting weights and will probably hurt themselves. But a major new review just published in Pediatrics, together with a growing body of other scientific reports, suggest that, in fact, weight training can be not only safe for young people, it can also be beneficial, even essential.

In the Pediatrics review, researchers with the Institute of Training Science and Sports Informatics in Cologne, Germany, analyzed 60 years’ worth of studies of kids and weightlifting. The studies covered boys and girls from age 6 to 18. The researchers found that, almost without exception, children and adolescents benefited from weight training. They grew stronger. Older kids, particularly teenagers, tended to add more strength than younger ones, as would be expected, but the difference was not enormous. Overall, strength gains were “linear,” the researchers found. They didn’t spike wildly after puberty for boys or girls, even though boys at that age are awash in testosterone, the sex hormone known to increase muscle mass in adults. That was something of a surprise. On the other hand, a reliable if predictable factor was consistency. Young people of any age who participated in resistance training at least twice a week for a month or more showed greater strength gains than those who worked out only once a week or for shorter periods.

Overall, the researchers concluded, “regardless of maturational age, children generally seem to be capable of increasing muscular strength.”

That finding, which busts one of the most pervasive myths about resistance training for young people — that they won’t actually get stronger — is in accord with the results and opinions of most researchers who have studied the subject. “We’ve worked with kindergartners, having them just use balloons and dowels” as strength training tools, “and found that they developed strength increases,” said Dr. Faigenbaum, a widely acknowledged expert on the topic of youth strength training. (His most recent book is in fact titled “Youth Strength Training.”)

But interestingly, young people do not generally add muscular power in quite the same way as adults. They rarely pack on bulk. Adults, particularly men but also women, typically add muscle mass when they start weight training, a process known as muscular hypertrophy (or, less technically, getting buff). Youths do not add as much or sometimes any obvious muscle mass as a result of strength training, which is one of the reasons many people thought they did not grow stronger. Their strength gains seem generally to involve “neurological” changes, Dr. Faigenbaum said. Their nervous systems and muscles start interacting more efficiently. A few small studies have shown that children develop a significant increase in motor-unit activation within their muscles after weight training. A motor unit consists of a single neuron and all of the muscle cells that it controls. When more motor units fire, a muscle contracts more efficiently. So, in essence, strength training in children seems to liberate the innate strength of the muscle, to activate the power that has been in abeyance, unused.

And that fact, from both a physiological and philosophical standpoint, is perhaps why strength training for children is so important, a growing chorus of experts says. “We are urban dwellers stuck in hunter-gatherer bodies,” said Lyle Micheli, M.D., the director of sports medicine at Children’s Hospital Boston and professor of orthopedic surgery at Harvard University, as well as a co-author, with Dr. Faigenbaum, of the National Strength and Conditioning Association’s 2009 position paper about children and resistance training. “That’s true for children as well as adults. There was a time when children ‘weight trained’ by carrying milk pails and helping around the farm. Now few children, even young athletes, get sufficient activity” to fully strengthen their muscles, tendons and other tissues. “If a kid sits in class or in front of a screen for hours and then you throw them out onto the soccer field or basketball court, they don’t have the tissue strength to withstand the forces involved in their sports. That can contribute to injury.”

Consequently, many experts say, by strength training, young athletes can reduce their risk of injury, not the reverse. “The scientific literature is quite clear that strength training is safe for young people, if it’s properly supervised,” Dr. Faigenbaum says. “It will not stunt growth or lead to growth-plate injuries. That doesn’t mean young people should be allowed to go down into the basement and lift Dad’s weights by themselves. That’s when you see accidents.” The most common, he added, involve injuries to the hands and feet. “Unsupervised kids drop weights on their toes or pinch their fingers in the machines,” he said.

In fact, the ideal weight-training program for many children need not involve weights at all. “The body doesn’t know the difference between a weight machine, a medicine ball, an elastic band and your own body weight,” Dr. Faigenbaum said. In his own work with local schools, he often leads physical-education class warm-ups that involve passing a medicine ball (usually a “1 kilogram ball for elementary-school-age children” and heavier ones for teenagers) or holding a broomstick to teach lunges safely. He has the kids hop, skip and leap on one leg. They do some push-ups, perhaps one-handed on a medicine ball for older kids. (For specifics about creating strength-training programs for young athletes of various ages, including teenagers, and avoiding injury, visit strongkid.com, a Web site set up by Dr. Faigenbaum, or the Children’s Hospital Boston sports medicine site.)

As for the ideal age to start weight training, Dr. Faigenbaum said: “Any age is a good age. But there does seem to be something special about the time from about age 7 to 12. The nervous system is very plastic. The kids are very eager. It seems to be an ideal time to hard-wire strength gains and movement patterns.” And if you structure a program right, he added, “it can be so much fun that it never occurs to the kids that they’re getting quote-unquote ‘strength training’ at all.”

http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/11/24/phys-ed-the-benefits-of-weight-training-for-kids/?partner=rss&emc=rss

--   Fred Gohh  President  Gray Bridge Software  fgohh@gbsware.com  412-401-1045