Don't Discourage Girls from Soccer to 'Protect' Them

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brucetee
What sport did you play ? It took your logic:
In “Ted Nugent, Hilary Rosen Sheltering Obama from Scrutiny” you wrote “In fact average workers during that period,lost ground, due to stagnant wage increases,and reduced purchasing power". Did not find proof of that in your two links. Prehaps you can quote as I do... For sure, your earlier quote “the economic growth,of which he speakes, benefited, by a wide margin,those on the upper rungs of the income ladder. very little ,if any, trickled down to the folks on main st” __ is NOT substantiated __ ... What he spoke has nothing to do with your two articles...
In the first link it says “Experts point to some of the usual suspects -- like technology and globalization -- to explain the widening gap between the haves and have-nots”
Also says “One major pull on the working man was the decline of unions and other labor protections, said Bill Rodgers, a former chief economist for the Labor Department, now a professor at Rutgers University”
Also says “International competition is another factor. While globalization has lifted millions out of poverty in developing nations, it hasn't exactly been a win for middle class workers in the U.S.”
Also says “While average folks were losing ground in the economy, the wealthiest were capitalizing on some of those same factors, and driving an even bigger wedge between themselves and the rest of America”
http://money.cnn.com/2011/02/16/news/economy/middle_class/index.htm
YOUR SECOND ARTICLE SAID ___ Second says “The latest census data depict a middle class that's shrinking as unemployment stays high and the government's safety net frays. The new numbers follow years of stagnating wages for the middle class that have hurt millions of workers and families
http://www.newsobserver.com/2011/12/16/1713834/census-1-in-2-americans-are-poor.html#storylink=cpy”
YOU WROTE __ Don’t see how this, as you wrote, “In fact average workers during that period,lost ground, due to stagnant wage increases,and reduced purchasing power" MATCH UP as proof.
__
As I have quoted before (Reason for recession and high unemployment. Nothing to do with tax cuts for rich):
"It’s important to keep in mind that the recession had nothing to do with the tax cuts. The recession was brought on by destructive federal intervention in the subprime mortgage market, irresponsible funding and securitization of subprime loans by Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae, unsound Federal Reserve monetary policy, a lack of oversight by the Securities and Exchange Commission, greed and fraud committed by certain large banks and investment firms, and consumers who bought homes they really couldn’t afford."
http://www.mtgriffith.com/web_documents/taxcutfacts.htm

Bill Hedges of MO 11:39PM May 11, 2012

Just maybe that explains the mental state of michele Bachmann and Sarah Palin.they got beaned in the head too many times playing soccer.

bruce b of NV 11:06PM May 11, 2012

Uh.... Agent Duke
The point was not that we should prohibit sports or driving, but rather that we should access "real risk" / cost ratios - applying common sense is key. Far more American children die choking on grapes and hot dogs EVERY year than have EVER died from lead paint, pesticides, or because schools or libraries weren't up to the ever more onerous and expensive safety regulations.
We tend to overlook the obvious threats and focus on the politically correct minutia or "worry du jour".

R.L. Schaefer of CA 11:01AM May 11, 2012

Schaefer,
This is the very attitude the author was talking about. Why do we think we *need* to protect them so much from remote possibilities that they don't "live" at all?
The bubble-boy comes to mind. Now, we should't drive them to underage drinking parties and pay them for 'sanctioned football hits,' but neither should we shield our children so much they don't have opportunities to develop their self-esteem or improve their health. That's not preparing them for the real world.
Sure, accidents happen. But personally, I'd rather die in some rock-climbing accident than alone, in my sleep, on a theraputic mattress.

Agent Duke of UT 7:44PM May 10, 2012

Uh...is it impossible to have head protection? Seems like a ball can bounce off a helmet as easily as it could bounce off the head, so shouldn't affect the sport all that much while providing needed protection.

bing of AL 6:32PM May 10, 2012

I'M CONFUSED....
Our nation tears down schools and other public buildings that have a trace of lead paint or asbestos, or that aren't up to ever more stringent earthquake standards. Even though, I don't recall ever having read of any child who died from lead paint, asbestos or having been killed in a substandard building during an earthquake. Our nation spends billions of dollars annually in attempting to create a rubber world.
Also, I note that bake sales and vending machines are banned from schools in vain attempts to improve the health of our children.
However, billions are spent annually promoting high school and college "sports" where hundreds of children are injured or crippled annually, and 10-20 kids die on the playing field. In addition there are dozens of deaths and hundreds of injuries sustained by students in transit to and from those events.
Further, parents blithely toss the car keys to 16 and 17 year old kids, even though each year thousands are killed, maimed or crippled - often while fiddling with a cell phone their parents bought them.
There is something wrong with this picture. As a nation it seems we have lost our common sense.

R.L. Schaefer of CA 5:32PM May 10, 2012

HI
Great article.Having been involved in Girls Soccer in NZ in various roles over the last three years I have seen even the meek girls grow in confidence and find an aggressive streak from within.As 11 to 13 year olds now I am sure that they will take the mental skills they learnt from playing onto the rest of their lives in the workplace and adulthood

geoff sherson 4:49PM May 10, 2012