Message to my brother Gino

My response to Pittsburgh Post Gazette's Ron Cook column.

Since it's been less than a week since the combine and about a month and a half away from the draft, I figured Mr. Cook needed something to write about to make deadline. That being said, two years to go on a contract should be a good thing for Pittsburgh Steeler head coach Mike Tomlin. He does have more wins than Whisenhunt, but I wouldn't use that as a measuring stick.

You know as well as I do, the Rooneys are fair and patient, though it is a new day. The times of coaches lasting decades with a team are long gone with few exceptions (Jeff Fisher of the Titans being the only one of those guys left).

If anything, I think management has a bigger fish to fry in dealing with an aging Ward and Hampton, finding a good draft choice and correcting a horrible special teams. Like Cook, I agree Tomlin will get his contract before the season, but if he doesn't I think we need to sound the alarm. We should be alright. Have the Rooneys ever steered us Steeler fans wrong?

My Time in the Balance of Power

It was short and sweet... and I'll take it.

Canton, Ohio: Hey coolest people in politics,

The time that we collectively get into the meat of the health care debate and the President's New Orleans visit, we are rudely interrupted by "Bubble Boy."

Although it was a technically newsworthy story, it surely wasn't a "drop everything you're doing and observe" feature. In addition, the overall coverage/reporting was spotty at best, and has turned CNN into Entertainment Tonight.

Do you think the journalism industry is getting the hint that it needs to work on its due diligence or is this the type of reporting we should expect going forward?

Ana Marie Cox: This is the type of reporting we should expect going forward.

Tucker Carlson: I agree of course, though it'd be a big help if viewers would refuse to watch garbage on TV.

Blame it on Rio

He is President of the United States. The leader of the free world as most would call him, Barack Obama has a lot on his plate; healthcare at home, and too many global hot spots to mention.

One issue that’s considered a side dish, however, is the next site of the 31st Olympiad. It’s not a matter of life or death, but one of national pride. Who wouldn’t want to host this celebration of friendly global jousting? Obama’s hometown of Chicago is in the running for the 2016 host city with Tokyo, Madrid and Rio de Janeiro.

Ever the multitasker, Obama is heading to Copenhagen Thursday in an attempt to throw his weight of persuasion toward the International Olympic Committee to choose his old stomping grounds. Members are scheduled to vote on the site Friday.

The debate is raging whether this action is needed given the president’s busy schedule. The discussion, however, is moot. If Obama has time to honor the 2009 Super Bowl champion Pittsburgh Steelers and last year’s World Series victors Philadelphia Phillies, then he could hop on Air Force One to Northern Europe for some overseas arm twisting.

That isn’t the issue. As in the restaurant business, it’s location, location and location. Of the past 29 host cities, the United States has hosted the Olympics four times, St. Louis (1904), Los Angeles (1932 and 1984) and Atlanta (1996). In addition, the Tokyo Games were held in 1964, and Barcelona, Spain in 1992.

Yes, having the games in Chicago in the peak of the summertime would be an inspiring spectacle. In the midst of economical, domestic gloom news that surrounds us, this could definitely be a national pick-me-up.

That being said, what about Rio? The Olympics have never reached the sunny shores of South America. In fact, that continent, along with Africa, is untouched territory for the Games of the Olympiad.

We’ve been talking about change for quite some time. Change in our government; a change in the way things are done in America and the world. Why not give Rio a chance? It’s change in a big way. It will provide an open window for the world to witness the greatness of the grand celebration; for instance The Carnival and scores of sandy beaches that are the envy of the Earth.

And Brazil is no stranger to world domination. Their five World Cup trophies are proof of their success in global competition (also, the Brazilians are hosting the 2014 World Cup, the first time in more than 30 years). The Olympiad, and the world, will be well served to play in such a unique city.

A visit from the popular U.S. president will raise antennas with the committee, but in essence, Obama will be a head cheerleader for good ‘ol America to invite the world to play during the last year of his (election-willing) second term. But maybe he should do the right thing and let Rio play in the Olympic sandbox this time around.

Just another commute

This morning when I got off my exit on the way to work, about to cruise through the green light without a care, I noticed someone backing their car up near the grassy divider.

She rolled her window down and apologized, I guess, for her awkward appearance.

“I’m a mess. Could you tell me where (undetectable) is at?”

“I think it’s over there, (pointing to the west as a Ford F150 slows up behind my Impala) that way, you should be going the right way,”

The car rolled back into drive and skirted along toward Parma. Sitting at the red light, I thought to myself about how I could have done such a thing to a nice woman.

I had no clue what I was talking about.

But the lady didn’t appear to be danger or of grave concern. I just hope she made it to her destination.

She might have been sitting idle at the Acme parking lot, cursing me out. “That man doesn’t know what he was talking about.” But if all went well, she could have written it off as a random act of kindness.

It feels a bit odd to be involved in a stranger’s life. This could have been the start of something special for her. Or maybe she was just running an errand, paying a bill, going to an interview (oh, that would be terrible if my directions complicated things) or on her way to see her lawyer.

At least, the guy in front of me was cool. Or appeared to be. Road rage is the most useless act of aggression. He was correct not to partake.

…

1895 8th grade exam

A coworker passed this nugget to me today. Were children, in general, THAT intelligent during the turn of the century? I wouldn't have made it in Kansas.

*It was taken from the original document on file at the Smoky Valley Genealogical Society and Library in Salina, Kansas and reprinted by the Salina Journal.*

1895 Exam: *Grammar* (Time, one hour)

1. Give nine rules for the use of Capital Letters.

2. Name the Parts of Speech and define those that have no modifications.

3. Define Verse, Stanza and Paragraph.

4. What are the Principal Parts of a verb? Give Principal Parts of do, lie, lay and run.

5. Define Case, Illustrate each Case.

6. What is Punctuation? Give rules for principal marks of Punctuation.

7-10. Write a composition of about 150 words and show therein that you understand the practical use of the rules of grammar.

1895 Exam: *Arithmetic* (Time, 1.25 hours)

1. Name and define the Fundamental Rules of Arithmetic.

2. A wagon box is 2 ft. deep, 10 feet long, and 3 ft. wide. How many bushels of wheat will it hold?

3. If a load of wheat weighs 3942 lbs., what is it worth at 50 cents per bushel, deducting 1050 lbs. for tare?

4. District No. 33 has a valuation of $35,000. What is the necessary levy to carry on a school seven months at $50 per month, and have $104 for incidentals?

5. Find cost of 6720 lbs. coal at $6.00 per ton.

6. Find the interest of $512.60 for 8 months and 18 days at 7 percent.

7. What is the cost of 40 boards 12 inches wide and 16 ft. long at $.20 per inch?

8. Find bank discount on $300 for 90 days (no grace) at 10 percent.

9. What is the cost of a square farm at $15 per acre, the distance around which is 640 rods?

10.Write a Bank Check, a Promissory Note, and a Receipt.

1895 Exam: *U.S. History* (Time, 45 minutes)

1. Give the epochs into which U.S. History is divided.

2. Give an account of the discovery of America by Columbus.

3. Relate the causes and results of the Revolutionary War.

4. Show the territorial growth of the United States.

5. Tell what you can of the history of Kansas.

6. Describe three of the most prominent battles of the Rebellion.

7. Who were the following: Morse, Whitney, Fulton, Bell, Lincoln, Penn, and Howe?

8. Name events connected with the following dates: 1607, 1620, 1800, 1849, and 1865?

1895 Exam: *Orthography* (Time, one hour)

1. What is meant by the following: Alphabet, phonetic orthography, etymology, syllabication?

2. What are elementary sounds? How classified?

3. What are the following, and give examples of each: Trigraph, subvocals, diphthong, cognate letters, linguals?

4. Give four substitutes for caret ‘u’.

5. Give two rules for spelling words with final ‘e’. Name two exceptions under each rule.

6. Give two uses of silent letters in spelling. Illustrate each.

7. Define the following prefixes and use in connection with a word: Bi, dis, mis, pre, semi, post, non, inter, mono, super.

8. Mark diacritically and divide into syllables the following, and name the sign that indicates the sound: Card, ball, mercy, sir, odd, cell, rise, blood, fare, last.

9. Use the following correctly in sentences, Cite, site, sight, fane, fain, feign, vane, vain, vein, raze, raise, rays.

10.Write 10 words frequently mispronounced and indicate pronunciation by use of diacritical marks and by syllabication.

1895 Exam: *Geography* (Time, one hour)

1. What is climate? Upon what does climate depend?

2. How do you account for the extremes of climate in Kansas?

3. Of what use are rivers? Of what use is the ocean?

4. Describe the mountains of N.A.

5. Name and describe the following: Monrovia, Odessa, Denver, Manitoba,

Hecla, Yukon, St. Helena, Juan Fermandez, Aspinwall and Orinoco.

6. Name and locate the principal trade centers of the U.S.

7. Name all the republics of Europe and give capital of each.

8. Why is the Atlantic Coast colder than the Pacific in the same latitude?

9. Describe the process by which the water of the ocean returns to the sources of rivers.

10.Describe the movements of the earth. Give inclination of the earth.

Excited ...

I'm very excited about ...
not knowing what is next.
getting involved in local politics.
getting on my wife's nerves on a regular basis.
learning a new groove.
having more friends.
enjoying Cleveland State's ride like I did 23 years ago.
watching the Cavs more frequently.
getting out of debt.
working out again.
spending more time with my family.
getting ME back.

Why we need to spend more

A friend last week returned from a school board meeting at Plain Local. She was faced with the option of paying more property tax that would come in form of a proposed levy measure.

She told me it’s a necessary evil. If the levy, which voters may decide on in May, fails, our neighborhood, Plain Township, could experience declining home values and sub-par school services.

“We need to do something,” my friend, a mother of four, said to me. “We already have limited busing and pay-to-play programs.”

Another district I covered for my newspaper is also experiencing the same pinch but only worse. Northwest Local Schools, in Canal Fulton, have cut its fiscal budget by more than $1.5 million and it’s still in the red roughly $1 million. The district has been placed under fiscal caution by the state less than a year ago, and the situation is getting worse.

In November, voters denied a new levy that would have increased property taxes for a $150,000 home $49 per month. That is a lot to ask of your fellow citizens. But this is an unusual time in our history.

No one wants to pay more taxes. The past presidential campaign proved indicative of that fact. Some have cast their votes, particular, on that issue alone. Many school levies in the county met the similar fate of Northwest. Nobody wants to pay more, especially in this lagging economy.

But something needs to be done. My friend’s prediction may come true in my neighborhood as well as Canal Fulton’s. Who wants to buy a house in a less-than-adequate school district? That will be the question a young family will ask their realtor when they see a home near Glenoak or Northwest.

Maybe the problem is the demagogy of higher taxes. ‘No higher taxes’ is the cry I hear from the citizens at township and board of education meetings. They don’t want that but are the first to cry when their police or fire department is lacking or when the street department doesn’t have the trucks or number of employees to clear the street after a snowstorm.

The point is that we are living in a new political era in which we must learn to sacrifice. It’s been around for a few years, we just didn’t notice it. One thing, in my opinion, George W. Bush missed when he was selling the Iraq War was our role in all of it.
Yes, he told us to go shopping, but what he failed to mention in his allure of being a “war president” was that others of his ilk asked the public at-large to sacrifice.

FDR was on the silver screen asking Americans to save rubber, ration wheat, soy and other products during World War II. We all had a part. Businesses joined in on the war effort. GM and Ford stop making consumer cars and made tanks and other armored transportation.

Years after the nation has spent our money like a drunken sailor, we must recover from that hangover and make due without and shift our priorities to something more significant: our infrastructure. Our roads, our civil services, and yes, our schools. If we continue down this road of forest before the trees thinking, our communities - Plain Township and others like it - will be a shell of it former shelf.