Tuesday, February 12, 2019

Fwd: Health update and SMM going away?

Big story. Had to share.

--- Forwarded message ---------
From: Mike Dillard

Here's What Happened To My Health, And Why I'm Making Some Important Changes To SelfMadeMan Tomorrow...

Hey Mark R, well this might just be one of the biggest and most personal updates I've ever had to write and share with you...
Over the past few months, I've vaguely mentioned that I've been dealing some significant health challenges, but I haven't gone into any real detail.



Well today I'm going to bring you up to speed, because it's forced me to make some significant changes to Self Made Man as a business that will take place tomorrow.

I'm planning to do an entire podcast about what I've been going through once I'm back to normal and have a full story to share, but in the meantime, here's the short version…

Six years of insane amounts of stress finally caught up with me on June 13th of last year, and it basically broke my nervous system, putting it into a fixed state of "fight of flight".

As a result, I felt a little click in my brain one day, and lost my ability to physically fall asleep from that point forward.

And when I say lost my ability to sleep, I'm not talking about difficulty, or even chronic insomnia. I'm talking about a physical inability to actually sleep no matter how tired I got.

In fact, I went five straight days and nights without sleeping for a single minute no matter how many supplements or over the counter sleep medications I tried.

Sleep deprivation is actually used as a form of torture by agencies like the CIA because the human body can only go 7-10 days without sleep before dying. And I got to that point.

I can remember laying on my couch 5 days in, and realizing that if I couldn't figure this out in the next 2-3 days, I'd be dead.

Imagine how you've felt when you haven't had sleep in 24 hours. Now imagine if that continued for a second day, and then a 3rd, and then a 4th, and a 5th… All without a single minute of sleep.

I can tell you that the fear and frustration is maddening and incomprehensible.

Thankfully at that point, my primary care doctor put me on a few medications like Xanax and Ambien which allowed me to get about 1-2 hours of "blackout" sleep a night, but I'd be up again as soon as they wore off.

It wasn't real, restorative sleep though. It would allow my brain to turn off for 1-2 hours, but my body and nervous system were still firing away as if I was running away from a lion 24/7.

By the second month, I was scared to death that things hadn't gotten any better.

I spoke to doctor after doctor, and none of them had ever seen anything like what I was experiencing. I searched YouTube and Google for days, and once again, I couldn't find any answers or stories from others, which made things even worse because I felt completely alone and helpless.

Hearing, "I've never seen anything like this before" from five different doctors isn't something you ever want to hear.

I was afraid that I had incurred some kind of brain injury that was going to make it impossible for me to ever sleep again. Depression and the first thoughts of suicide I'd ever had started to creep in.

If the problem continued, I had to come to terms with the fact that I'd probably end up disappearing from the world, and living with my parents, unable to function in any kind of normal capacity.

And then in a moment of complete serendipity, I met a sleep doctor named Kirk and his partner Krisstina at Aubrey Marcus' house.

It turns out that Krisstina had gone through the same thing 5 years ago. After 20 years of practice, she and I were the only two people Kirk had ever seen who had experienced this condition.

It quickly became apparent that we were both cut from the same cloth.

Our drive, ambition, and competitiveness drove our bodies past the breaking point.

She felt a click in her head after speaking at an event, and couldn't fall asleep again for over a year. She ended up being hospitalized and nearly died as well.

At some point, she'll join me on the podcast to share her story, but that night was a huge turning point for me, because she eventually found her way back to health, and back to sleep. I broke down in tears that night because meeting her gave me hope for the very first time in months.

Since then, I've gone through neuro-biofeedback therapy, Trans-cranial Magnetic Stimulation therapy, 9 ketamine IV sessions, float-tank therapy, nightly meditation, hypnotherapy, MDMA therapy, traditional counseling therapies, dozens of blood tests, EEG's, NAD+ therapy, and all kinds of diet and nutrition regimens.

Thankfully, things got a little better after the Ketamine sessions.

I was able to work my way off the pharmaceuticals, and replace them with a combination of supplements and CBD products that have allowed me to get around 3-4 hours of light sleep per night.

After talking to Krisstina and Kirk during these challenge, there wasn't a silver bullet that "fixed" her. It was a slow process of many different therapies that finally reset her nervous system.

Today, I'm almost 9 months into what has been the single most difficult challenge of my life.

For the most part, I've had to live as a hermit the past year, giving up any form of social life, selling my race cars, and doing everything I can to keep my employees paid and the podcast alive.

But it has also been one of the most rewarding experiences I've ever had, because it was truly an intervention that finally forced me to deal with habits and traumas that put me in this condition.

Without this experience, I'm confident that I would have never stopped the life of constant adrenaline and stress I'd grown used to for decades, which would have eventually led to a heart attack.

It's forced me to give up caffeine, and alcohol. It's forced me to realize that life isn't about business, and it's forced me to change my habits and stories when it comes to success and money.

As of today, I still haven't been able to fall asleep one single time without a handful of natural tranquilizers to calm my nervous system, but I've seen a good amount of progress the past few months.

We'll be doing a brain MRI in the coming weeks to make sure there isn't anything serious such as a tumor that's behind all of this, and I'll be starting a few new therapies that should bring some positive results.

At this point, my mind is mostly back, I can write the occasional email like this one, or record a short video, and I finally have enough energy to venture out of the house and take a short walk during the week.

The work that I've done over the past 9 months will allow me to come back better, clearer, and stronger than I ever was before, just as it did for Krisstina, but I'm not there just yet.

So what does this have to do with SelfMadeMan and the business?

Well my vision for SMM when I started creating the platform and the classes two years ago, was to build it into a significant media/education company like SkillShare or Udemy.

But the stress that I put myself through to bring EverGrow, and SMM to life almost killed me.

So I've had to let go of that dream, and create a new one that acknowledges where I'm at today, and what I've been going through.

Simply put, it is much more modest, but also more personal and meaningful.

I'm letting go of the dream of building a $100 million publishing company, and getting back to doing what I love to do most… Personally learning, creating, and teaching.

The single biggest joy and reward that I've ever had in life, is walking down the street, or through the hall of an event, and having someone walk up to me and say, "thank you, your book/course/videos changed my life".

Sharing what I know so it can help others is what I'm here to do, so that's what I'm going to get back to.

So what does that look like, and what does it mean for you?

Well, the first thing that will be the most obvious, is that we're nuking the current SelfMadeMan.com platform next week.

We spent over a year and $1 million building a completely custom platform that was designed to support millions of users.

That platform costs around $30,000+ per month to maintain and develop, which isn't sustainable or necessary anymore. (And that's not including the content production which was about $10,000 per class).

So we've spent the past three months migrating it to WordPress and ClickFunnels.

From the outside, the platform will look 95% the same.

Same format, catalog, class and podcast pages, etc. If I wasn't telling you about this, you probably wouldn't notice the difference.

But it will take our development costs down from $30,000+ per month, to about $3,000.

The biggest change that you will see, is that we're going to host the platform at MikeDillard.com, instead of SelfMadeMan.com, starting tomorrow when it goes live.

Why the change?

Well, my goal with SelfMadeMan was to build a brand and a company that I could eventually sell.

That's why I'm not in any of the classes.

But moving forward, all of the content I'm planning to produce will be done by me personally.

I can't wait to get back to creating and contributing to the world. I have three books I want to write. I have over 100 YouTube videos mapped out, and a new course that I'd love to produce at some point this year as soon as my health allows for it.

Everything I'm going to produce is going to be done by me, for you, so it only makes sense to build those assets and equity under my personal brand, because I'm never going to sell that work or the platform to another person or company at this point.

If it's your name on the book, or you in front of the camera, you want to use that work to build your personal brand. Not a separate entity like SelfMadeMan.

So that update will take place tomorrow, and you'll also notice some additional improvements…

If you own List-Grow, 7FSP, or my Crypto course, those Master Classes will finally be available to you on the platform instead of through separate websites. You'll have one login, and access to everything in one place.

Second, we're going to end all active monthly and annual subscriptions as of March 1st.

We have 4-5 more classes that we're going to release once the new platform is up, and if you're currently a paid member, you'll be getting access to all of those.

If you have a monthly or annual subscription in place, that will be cancelled on March 1st, so you'll never be billed again, but you'll continue to have access to all of the classes on the platform.

Moving forward, we'll be offering them for sale individually, or as a complete bundle.

Now as a part of this migration process, we'll be importing your contact information into the new system if you're a current customer.

That means you're going to get an email tomorrow with a new password that you'll need to use to login.

Obviously this is going to be a massive undertaking and I'm sure there will be a bug or two along the way, but we'll get those fixed as soon as possible.

So that's what I've been dealing with for the past year in a nutshell.

It's been an absolute nightmare in many ways, but also the single best thing that's ever happened to me in others, which I'll save for another chapter in this story :)

Thank you for your patience, your understanding, and your support.

Sincerely,


Mike Dillard

593fe685-5173-4ada-81d3-6f604644c9b4.png





--

Wednesday, February 06, 2019

Fwd: Great News About Your Account, Mark!



Easier Student + Teacher Access + Amazon Gift Cards!

I'm excited to share that all of EVERFI's no-cost blended learning resources are now available via Clever, a single-sign-on and automatic rostering application!  

So What Does This Mean?

  • You can now access EVERFI's over 20 digital activities/lessons through the PPS Student Resources page.
  • Students can log into the program with a single click - no need for usernames/passwords
  • You can add students to different programs with your rosters already linked!

Where and How Do I Find the Resources?


Grab Your $30 Amazon Gift Card here!

Okay, that was a lot!  I hope you're doing a little dance of excitement - please reach out with how I can help!

Thank you!
Alyssa

Senior Technology Implementation Coach
Pennsylvania, West Virginia


T @mahramusalyssa
EVERFI


Fwd: WHO Nonfatal Drowning - Comments needed



---------- Forwarded message ---------
From: Rebecca Wear Robinson



Influence policy on Non-fatal Drowning today.
Is this email not displaying correctly?
View it in your browser.
Your action is needed today:

1.  Review the newly released position paper on Non-fatal Drowning.

2. Comment on the paper on Non-fatal Drowning before 15 March 2019.

3.  SHARE this email with all of your colleagues in the field - on social media and by email.  #nonfataldrowning and #drowning

Many thanks to our colleagues who worked on the report.  Consistency in terminology and sharing best practices are critical in ending drowning.

Non-fatal Drowning Working Group Members:
Dr Stephen Beerman
Dr Joost Bierens
Dr Tessa Clemens
Dr David Meddings
Dr Aminur Rahman
Dr David Szpilman

Background on the Position Paper from Dr. David Meddings of the WHO:
"You may know that there has been discussion within the global drowning community aimed at improving the use of the phrase "non-fatal drowning".

Based on these discussions a Working Group was established to carry this issue further. A very productive meeting about this topic was hosted by the Drowning Prevention Research Centre Canada in Toronto during August 2018. That meeting resulted in the Working Group developing a proposed categorization framework for non-fatal drowning. A few months were needed to further tweak the language and develop a users guide annex for the framework. The Working Group has agreed as part of our discussions in August last year that the Position Statement of the Working Group should be made available for public comment. Accordingly, the Position Statement along with a link for providing reviews has been posted on the WHO website at the following link:

https://www.who.int/violence_injury_prevention/drowning/non-fatal-drowning/en/

The Position Statement is available for review until 15 March 2019.

On behalf of the Working Group I would like to ask you to please take the time to download and review the Position Statement. My colleagues on the Working Group as well as myself would also be very grateful if you would please circulate this email widely within your networks."
Copyright © 2019 Lioness Protects LLC, All rights reserved.
You are receiving this email because we work together to end drowning.
Our mailing address is:
Lioness Protects LLC
312 Park Ave Unit 84
Clarendon Hills, IL 60514-040



Tuesday, February 05, 2019

Fwd: [Art-All-Night] Art All Night 22 Planning committee meeting

----- Forwarded message ---

Greetings Art All Nighters,


Art All Night is embarking on its 22nd year of celebrating art, music, and performance in a free, non-juried, non-censored show!

It will be held at the end of April in a location to be determined. Art All Night needs one thing in order to be successful: a planning team of dedicated people to take on the responsibilities required for show preparation.

Art All Night Planning Members:

  • meet most weeks from now until the end of April.
  • meet Saturdays in April to prepare a warehouse.
  • take on decision-making roles for certain aspects of the show.
  • are not alone-- members support one another and each have a voice.
  • work outside of meetings to fulfill responsibilities.
Being part of the team takes work, but it is also genuinely rewarding and super fun. If you are curious about learning more, come to the kick-off meeting:

First Planning Meeting
when: 7 pm on Wednesday February 13th
where: The Shiloh Building basement, 3832 Mintwood St, Pittsburgh, PA 15201.
         *** Note that this is a different location than previous years. Please enter through the door off of Mintwood Street that has a white Art All Night Sign on it.



Any questions or comments? We would like to hear from you. Please email info@artallnight.org or visit www.artallnight.org.

If the planning team is not for you, know that you are still needed! Over 250 volunteers help out during the event. Volunteer sign up information will be sent out in early April.

Twitter: http://twitter.com/ArtAllNight
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/artallnight

_______________________________________________

Art-All-Night mailing list
Art-All-Night@artallnight.org
https://www.artallnight.org/mailman/listinfo/art-all-night



Fwd: Lifeguard certification class for 15 and older anyone welcome

----- Forwarded message ----

Hello,

We have a lifeguarding class for new and re-certifications April 12-14th. This is open to anyone 15 years or older. Feel free if you know anyone who might want to be a lifeguard to pass it along or anyone who needs a re-certification before the summer.  See below for more details.
Thank you,
Mike Kristufek
MLAC General Manager

 

LIFEGUARDING CERTIFICATION COURSE With CPR/AED and FIRST AID TRAINING






American Red Cross-Certified Course Instructors – Alycia Miller

Program Location: Mt. Lebanon High School, 155 Cochran Road, Pittsburgh, PA 15228


American Red Cross Program --- Lifeguard Certification Program Dates:
Session 1: April 12th-14th 5:00pm-9:00pm Friday, Saturday and Sunday 8:00am-5:00pm 
                               Click here to register

Qualifications/Requirements:

  1. Applicant must be at least 15 years old as of May 20th (proof of age required)
  2. Applicant must have the ability to swim 300 yards freestyle/breaststroke (under no time limitation)
  3. Applicant must be able to complete the deep-water brick test in 1 minute 40 seconds; (jump/dive into the deep end of the pool to retrieve a weighted brick and carry/swim with it to the shallow end)
    Lifeguarding certification $260
Lifeguarding Recertification Only $200.00
Pre-registration is required/space is limited. Payment due prior to start of the session

 f you have any questions, please reply to: coachmikek@mlacswimming.com

/emimg

Monday, February 04, 2019

Fwd: Goodbye to the Dollar . . . well not really

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

This really should be titled 'Goodbye to Imperialism', my apologies for the extended introduction, but I think that it is necessary.

 

Attached is a particularly interesting piece by Chris Hedges concerning the possibility that U.S. Dollar hegemony as the world's reserve currency may be threatened by the ongoing actions of Donald Trump.  It contains important ideas about which most Americans are clueless; and some others of which most are also clueless that are not accurate.  The idea is that Trump's actions in the world are effectively destroying other nations, particularly our allies, are losing faith in the ability of the United States to be a trusted partner in regards to treaty obligations and within the lines of obligation of international institutions – most of which the U.S. was instrumental in creating and managing such as the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund.

Hedges cites the work of noted historian Alfred McCoy and world renowned economist and historian Michael Hudson in support of his argument.  (Hedges article is actually a follow-up on a piece by Hudson which I sent out this past Saturday.  It is also attached for reference.)  The central idea here is that, as a result of U.S. actions under Trump, but also under George W. Bush, many nations are becoming skittish about dealing exclusively in Dollars for international trade – particularly trade in petroleum which has been sold almost exclusively in Dollars since Kissinger negotiated a deal with Saudi Arabia, and thus OPEC, to insure that during the Nixon administration. 

Hedges then concludes that, because other nations are worried about the constancy and dependability of the United States as a global hegemon, they are beginning to transfer their gold holdings out of the U.S. (Germany and Netherlands) and bringing it back to their own countries for safe keeping.  Other nations, such as Russia, China and Iran, are unloading their Dollar reserves and working on transferring their reserves into each other's currencies.  Even the Bank of England is talking about reducing its Dollar reserves.  And, to be sure, this does represent a very real threat to the Dollar as the world's reserve currency and a threat to U.S. imperialism around the world as U.S. imperialism depends upon reliable allies to support our actions both financially and militarily.

But it is here that Hedges falls off the money cliff as he says that this will result in foreign countries losing their willingness to purchase U.S. Treasury bonds, therefore strangling our ability to issue Dollars through borrowing.  Chris Hedges should know better.  As I have reported on many occasions the United States Treasury does not have to borrow to spend for any reason other than an obscure act by Congress, the Banking Act of 1935, which requires that the Treasury issue bonds through Wall Street bond brokers, at interest, for all spending.  And, while this is a law, it is also true that the Federal Reserve is required to purchase all Treasury bonds not purchased in the public market and deliver the necessary Dollars to the Treasury for its needs.  Foreign governments refusal to purchase U.S. bonds in no way constrains the ability of this government to spend any amount it chooses.

Furthermore, there is no limit on the amount that the federal government can spend or the amount of debt which can be paid so long as the debt is denominated in Dollars – no matter who or what holds this debt.  Neither China nor any other nation can bankrupt the U.S. by demanding payment of bonds it has purchased – the Fed simply credits the accounts of the holders with Dollars and the debt is paid – period end of story.  This has always been true whether we were on a gold standard or not and the U.S. has not been on a gold standard since 1971 – and even then it was a faux gold standard.

However, this is not to say that the failure of the U.S. Dollar to remain the reserve currency of the world would have no impact on the United States.  As it now stands, most international trade is conducted in Dollars and this is very important to our current economy since we now import most of the items necessary for the nation to function.  The Dollar as the reserve currency means that other nations must accumulate Dollars in order to purchase items on the world market, particularly petroleum products.  This dependency on Dollars means that other countries are willing to sell us their goods and resources without being too concerned about the health of our economy.  In other words, it permits the United States to amass an extremely large foreign account deficit – that is debt.

If the Dollar loses its status as the reserve currency, the U.S. would have to acquire the currency of the nations we want to trade with or the alternative reserve currency if we want to purchase goods abroad.  So in this sense Hedges is quite correct.  The loss of the Dollars as the reserve currency would likely result in economic chaos here in the States, at least for a while.  To the extent that other nations also lost faith in the ability of the United States to actually pay for its transactions (i.e., the Dollar devalues relative to other currencies) it could be calamitous for our standard of living.

However, the greater likelihood is that in such an event the immediate result would be an increase in the cost of imported goods and a slow reduction in living standards; which, given the current state of inequality, could be rather dramatic.  But it is still true that the U.S. would still be a very important market for much of the rest of the world, thus reducing the overall impact of the loss of reserve status.  We would not become Zimbabwe or Weimar Germany.  These situations only occur when the nation's debt is denominated in a currency other than that of the nation.  What it would do is substantially limit our ability to interfere militarily in the affairs of other nations because other nations (our allies for instance) would no longer be dependent upon our good will in order to survive in the community of nations (see crippling financial sanctions imposed by the U.S. on nations we don't like).  

It would also have a major destabilizing impact on global financial stability likely resulting in a massive worldwide depression which may or may not be survivable for the global economic community.  And, as bad as it could be, this would not necessarily be a bad thing to happen.  But, like all cataclysmic events, outcomes are highly unpredictable.

At the same time within the United States, to the extent that we could still gain access to resources necessary for the maintenance of economic operations, the government would not be constrained in how much it could spend to maintain operations.  While it would certainly take time, the nation could once again begin producing the goods and services necessary for survival as local production would be less costly than imports.  Work would be plentiful once the productive base was reestablished and operational and pay should be reasonably attractive for all workers.  If it were done properly every effort would be made to make all production environmentally sustainable – pie in the sky perhaps, but absolutely necessary for survival.

Do read the attached articles.  They are important, particularly the Hudson piece.  But be assured that the ability of the U.S. to sell Treasury bonds is absolutely irrelevant to the ability of this government to spend Dollars into the economy.

John


Link 1, Goodbye to the Dollar, pdf file, 149k


Link 2, Trump's Brilliant Strategy to Dismember US Dollar, 203k. 

Sunday, February 03, 2019

Fwd: Love Yourself; Love your Heart; SWIM!

To learn more about swim events around Pittsburgh and western Pennsylvania, see 4Rs.org


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

In addition to toning visible muscles, swimming also helps improve the most important muscle in our bodies: our heart!
Swimming is an aerobic exercise, it strengthens the heart by helping it to become larger; making it more efficient in pumping — which leads to better blood flow throughout your body. 30 minutes of swimming a day can reduce coronary heart disease in women by 30 to 40 percent. Regular aerobic exercise can reduce blood pressure. Swimming raises "good" cholesterol HDL levels. For every 1 percent increase in HDL cholesterol, the risk of dying from heart disease drops by 3.5 percent. Studies have also shown that aerobic exercise like swimming can also keep the layer of cells lining your arteries flexible and in good shape.
Other benefits too:
  • Want to help prevent diabetes? Swim! Men can reduce their risk of diabetes by an average of 6 percent for every 500 calories a week they burn in aerobic exercise. With just 30 minutes of breaststroke swimming three times per week, you could burn 900 calories — reducing your risk of contracting type 2 diabetes by over 10 percent. Vigorous exercise for women can lower their risk by 16% over inactive women. If you already have type 1diabetes, the aerobic benefits of swimming can be particularly helpful, as this type of exercise can increase insulin sensitivity.   According to the American Diabetes Association, diabetics should get 150 minutes per week, spread across at least three days per week, of moderate-intensity physical activity like swimming to aid glycemic control.
  • Lower Stress + Higher Spirits = Better Brain all due to the release of endorphins, giving you relaxation and a "natural high". Swimming changes the brain through a process known as hippocampal neurogenesis, in which the brain replaces cells lost through stress.
  • Swimming provides the chance to work out in moist air, which can help reduce exercise-induced asthma symptoms. It also relieves the condition overall by increasing lung volume and teaching proper breathing techniques.
  • Swimming is now recognized as one of the biggest calorie burners around, and it's great for keeping weight under control. The exact number of calories you burn, of course, depends on your own physiology and the intensity with which you exercise, but as a general rule, for every 10 minutes of swimming: the breast stroke will burn 60 calories; the backstroke 80; the freestyle 100; and the butterfly stroke evaporates an impressive 150.
  • Swimming puts the body through a broad range of motion that helps joints and ligaments stay loose and flexible. It's a great way to increase muscle strength and tone. Water is 12 times more dense than air. Propelling through the water acts as resistance exercise…which is the best way to build muscle tone and strength. Additionally, swimming has also been shown to improve bone strength — especially in post-menopausal women.
  • Suffer from arthritis? Get into the pool. The water will support 90% of your body weight! If the pool is heated, the warm water can help loosen still joints. People with rheumatoid arthritis can receive greater benefits to their health after participating in hydrotherapy than with other activities. It's also been proven that water-based exercise improves the use of affected joints and decreases pain from osteoarthritis.
  • Perhaps best of all…swimming can keep you from dying prematurely. Researchers at the University of South Carolina followed 40,547 men, aged 20 to 90, for 32 years and discovered that those who swam had a 50 percent lower death rate than runners, walkers or men who got no exercise. The study authors concluded that the same benefits would be received by women too.
What are you waiting for? Join a Swim Strong class for Safety and Health today!   www.SwimStrongFoundation.org

Saturday, February 02, 2019

Fwd: When will we ever learn?

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


Somehow, no matter how critical the challenge, everything seems to come down to money; when, in fact it should only be decided by available resources and a willingness to attack the problem.  To paraphrase Pete Seeger, when will we ever learn?  If too late isn't already here, it is fast approaching.  Two good articles on quite divergent subjects.

John

Link 1, A serious green new deal would take up one third of the economy.

Link 2, Trump's Brilliant strategy to dismember US Dollar

Monday, January 28, 2019

Fwd: . . . and the killing just goes on.

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

One more example of the Israeli government's naked fascism in the land it illegally controls.  There is no other word for it.

News of the pending overthrow of the Maduro government in Venezuela – planned, sponsored and paid for by the U.S. – and cheered for by virtually all mainstream media in this country has been burbling to the surface over the past week or so.  Yet all most Americans can talk about is the supposed piddling attempt by Russia to influence the 2016 election here.  Why is it that Americans are so unconcerned about our own election being interfered with when we have been heavily involved in much more serious and successful efforts to overthrow – not just influence – the governments of tens of dozens of nations ever since the end of World War II?  This blindness to our own culpability, ignoring the resultant murder of tens of millions of people by governments we supported following overthrows we engineered in almost every continent on earth – missing only Australia and Antarctica. 

Interestingly, most of the nefarious efforts at political and military interference the U.S. has undertaken over the years have taken place in nations which had successful democratic elections; electing leaders who were not completely interested in following U.S. dictates or seeking land redistribution so that an oppressed peasantry can have the ability to survive on the land and not simply serve as serfs for global corporate interests.  This, after all, is what neoliberal capitalism is all about.  No one and no country must be allowed to live independently of the neoliberal order – and we will use, and have, used military force to ensure that this status quo is maintained no matter what the desires of the people of the victim lands. 

The third attachment provides some valuable history for anyone who still believes that the U.S. only intervenes in other nations in order to help free people from tyranny.  As strange as it may seem to many Americans, it is highly probable that this nation has never done this anywhere.

John 

Link 1


Sunday, January 27, 2019

Fwd: Roadmap to a New Pennsylvania - KRC/PBPC Insider News

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

The Insider News is a look at the work of the Keystone Research Center and the Pennsylvania Budget and Policy Center



January 27, 2019

The Insider News is a look at the work of the Keystone Research Center and the Pennsylvania Budget and Policy Center. Send comments or questions to our communications director John Neurohr at neurohr@pennbpc.org.



Roadmap to a New PA

The We The People - PA campaign, a project of PBPC, released our "Roadmap to a New Pennsylvania" this week. The "Roadmap" is a comprehensive public policy manual for lawmakers and advocates. From economic and tax fairness issues to healthcare to education to housing and food security to securing our democracy, the "Roadmap" lays out clear solutions to the everyday issues facing Pennsylvanians.

The "Roadmap" is based on the We The People - PA campaign's pro-active issue agenda, which was created by Pennsylvanians like you who came together in community meetings all over the state in 2018. We reached broad agreement on what we want from state government: public policies that make poor, working-class and middle-class Pennsylvanians safer, healthier, and more prosperous. The "Roadmap" is a more detailed analysis of the challenges Pennsylvanians face and the policies that can be turned into legislation that reflect the principles outlined in the We The People - PA agenda.

If you're able to, please share the "Roadmap" via social media:


2019 PA Budget Summit

The 2019 Pennsylvania Budget Summit is taking place on Thursday, March 21st, from 9:30am to 4:00pm, at the Crowne Plaza Harrisburg-Hershey, and our planning committee would like to have YOUR input regarding potential topics for workshops at the Summit! Please take a moment to complete an online survey of 14 topics for potential workshops, as well as space to suggest additional topics. Surveys need to be submitted by the end of the day on WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 30TH!

And mark your calendars now for the upcoming Budget Summit, which will feature an analysis of Gov. Wolf's 2019-20 budget proposal, legislative panel discussion, workshops, plenary sessions, & much much more! More information about the agenda and how to register will be coming soon!



CITIZENS' VOICE - Crowd at local Women's March eager for change

WILKES-BARRE - More than 150 women, men and children rallied in Kirby Park and marched to Public Square on Saturday, as tens of thousands of others participated in women's marches across the nation. Local speakers on the third anniversary weekend of the i

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INQUIRER - Failure to fund food stamps will hurt more than the hungry

Since the federal government started distributing food stamps to low-income Americans in 1964, there has never been a month in which payments weren't made. But March is looming as a potentially historic moment in which the five-week-old partial government shutdown - if it stretches past February - may preclude people from receiving benefits for the first time.

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Mark Rauterkus       Mark.Rauterkus@gmail.com
Swimming and Water Polo Coach, Schenley High School, Pittsburgh, PA
http://CLOH.wikia.com
412 298 3432 = cell

Thursday, January 24, 2019

Fwd: [Art-All-Night] Art All Night square dance this Saturday



---------- Forwarded message ---------
From: Art All Night <info@artallnight.org>
Date: Thu, Jan 24, 2019 at 3:43 PM
Subject: [Art-All-Night] Art All Night square dance this Saturday
To: <art-all-night@artallnight.org>


Hello Art All Nighters!

Join us this Saturday, January 26, for a square dance featuring Grayscale and the legendary caller Ron Buchanan. Dances are taught so no experience is necessary and a $10 donation goes directly to support Art All Night. The event is BYOB and open to everyone so please spread the word!

Location: Shiloh Building, 3832 Mintwood Street, Pgh, 15201.
Time:
7:30-10:30pm

Hope to see you there!

Twitter: http://twitter.com/ArtAllNight
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/artallnight
_______________________________________________
This message was sent to mark@rauterkus.com

Art-All-Night mailing list
Art-All-Night@artallnight.org

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Ta.


Mark Rauterkus       Mark.Rauterkus@gmail.com
Swimming and Water Polo Coach, Schenley High School, Pittsburgh, PA
http://CLOH.wikia.com
412 298 3432 = cell

Wednesday, January 23, 2019

Fwd: URA Releases RFP for Hill House Properties



---------- Forwarded message ---------
From: City of Pittsburgh <pressrelease@pittsburghpa.gov>
Date: Wed, Jan 23, 2019 at 12:04 PM
Subject: URA Releases RFP for Hill House Properties
To: <mark.rauterkus@gmail.com>


Published:
01.23.2019
Contact:
Daniel Wood
D6 Staff
District 6
412-255-2134
daniel.wood@pittsburghpa.gov

URA Releases RFP for Hill House Properties

URA Releases RFP for Hill House Properties

https://www.ura.org/proposals/hill-house-association-rfp

 

Councilman R. Daniel Lavelle, along with Rep. Jake Wheatley and County Councilman Dewitt Walton, held a Community Update Meeting on the evening of Thursday, January 10 to give status updates after going to court and asking the state attorney general to intervene over the proposed sale of four Hill House buildings. Hill House Association leaders plan to sell the Hill House headquarters at 1835 Centre Ave., One Hope Square at 1901-1915 Centre Ave., the Family Dollar Store at 1917 Centre Ave. and the Blakey Program Center at 1908 Wiley Ave.  

Both Councilman Lavelle and Representative Wheatley explained the change in direction of the Hill House Association, as the organization has agreed to accept the $500,000 as a provisional loan to sustain operations and programs while giving the Hill District residents a communal process for the upcoming selling of properties.  The loan was provided by the Hill District Growth Fund. The Growth Fund has invested in other key community assets such as the Grocery Store, Hill CDC and Jeron X Grayson Center.

The communal process will be managed by the Development Review Panel (staffed by the Hill CDC and made up of community members and residents).  The Urban Redevelopment Authority has released the RFP. The RFP can be found here: https://www.ura.org/proposals/hill-house-association-rfp.

 Also, in the coming weeks and months, the Hill House has agreed to establish a Hill House Transition Committee to partake in the future planning of social service programming.  


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LaptopCupGreenMarker

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Mark Rauterkus       Mark@Rauterkus.com 
Executive Director of SKWIM USA, a 501(c)(3)
The Pittsburgh Project - swim coach and head lifeguard
Middle School Swim Coach at The Ellis School
Former Varsity Boys Swim Coach, Pittsburgh Obama Academy
Sabbatical for 2018: PPS Summer Dreamers' Swim & Water Polo 
Pittsburgh Combined Water Polo Team

http://CLOH.org

412 298 3432 = cell