Although Mr. Starr lays out some good information, he like all of the other talking heads have not decided how all of this is to take place.

What needs to be done right now is get everyone out of there. Take care of the sick, indigent and otherwise needy. Take precautions so that people are not going to be further sickened by the water sitting in New Orleans and pay serious attention to other public health hazards.

How does that happen. It takes work, not talk. It takes people giving and it takes volunteers and it takes the Armed Forces, It takes specific action. That is starting to happen although the plans for all of this should have been in place. They evidently were not. So the only alternative is to get everyone of of their backsides and get the job done. In other words whatever it takes lets do it. Lets quit talking about it.

Mr. Starr painting all wrestling coaches and engineers with the same brush serves no purpose and is not worthy of serious thought. If the comments were meant to be entertaining , they were not. If you were serious your thoughts are seriously flawed, but.....Have a great day!

Article Criticizing Wrestling Coaches and Engineers

I have seen and heard a lot of finger pointing in the last couple of days. In
fact it seems to be rampant. My first thought when I read this article was to react because I am a Wrestling Coach Of 33 years tenure.

I decided to respond to S. Fredrick Starr, Johns Hopkins Professor in a kinder and more specific way than he wrote about the House Speaker.

What we don't need is more name calling so I am going to stay away from that, what we do need is action and a lot more of it. We need action and we need it in a more timely manner than it is happening.

My opinions on the handling of the Katrina Catastrophe are published on http://www.pascohigh.com so I am not going to get into that bag again.

I am a Wrestling Coach, I have thirty three years in the profession. I am also a teacher as are most high school wrestling coaches in the country. That means that they are as different as green beans and tomatoes. Some are trained in humanities, some are math oriented they teach algebra, geometry,calculus, science, journalism, language health and fitness and list goes on.

This is what I know about wrestling coaches. I know this for a fact as I have worked with them for the majority of my professional career.

They are an intelligent group of people

They are some of the hardest working people I have ever met.

They are persistent and finish what they start.

I have met only a few who are not good leaders and organizers.

They are mentors to high school students.

They are fiercely competitive people.

They do what they say!

They finish what they start.

They have family, wives, children and are effective parents.

They are doers, they do not just talk.

Many of them including myself are Veterans.

Most of them are involved intricately in their communities.

Having said all of that, I think that the professor took some pot shots which were not necessary. You can find failures in all walks of life. However the term failure to me means a quitter. I do not see the speaker quitting.

What we don't need in this country is more elitist rhetoric.
We need solid citizens, people who pay their taxes, go to work and do their jobs well, we need good parents, teachers, coaches, school board members, principals, mayors, governors, senators and representatives. Down to earth people who do what they say they are going to do. Who finish what they start, who have the good of people at heart.

Personally I would take my chance with a Wrestling Coach any day over someone who simply offers opinions and takes no practical action.
I thought that I would respond to this article because it demonstrates just what we don't need in a crises or catastrophe. My question to the good professor is what exactly has he done to help one victim of Katrina.
If he has donated money to the Red Cross or other agencies well then I am impressed, If he has taken a victim of Katrina in to his home then I am really impressed. If he is down there helping the victims on the front line that would be a great thing. Wrestling Coaches are doing all of those things.

Some Fierce Conversation From Coach Bodnar

Tough Is Not Enough!

Grappling For Excellence!

Coach Bodnar