Pittsburgh Current. Nov. 4, 2020. Volume 3, Issue 38

INSIDE:

IN 14 YEARS, PGH SCHOOLS HAVE DONE LITTLE TO CLOSE EDUCATION GAPS VOL. 3 ISSUE 38

Nov. 4, 2020 - Nov. 10, 2020

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OFFICIAL ADVERTISEMENT THE BOARD OF PUBLIC EDUCATION OF THE SCHOOL DISTRICT OF PITTSBURGH A DV E R T I S E M E N T F O R B I D S Sealed proposals shall be deposited at the Administration Building, Bellefield Entrance Lobby, 341 South Bellefield Avenue, Pittsburgh, Pa., 15213, on November 10, 2020, until 2:00 P.M., local prevailing time for: Pgh. Allderdice HS Domestic Hot Water – PE Wing Plumbing Prime

Pgh. Crescent ECC Boiler Replacement Mechanical, Electrical and Asbestos Abatement Primes

Pgh. Montessori PreK-5 Domestic Water Booster System Plumbing Prime

Pgh. Sterrett 6-8 Entrance Doors General Prime

Various Schools: Pgh. Classical, Pgh Perry, Pgh. Colfax Replace Electrical Distribution Systems Electrical and Asbestos Abatement Primes

Service & Maintenance Contracts at Various Schools, Facilities, Facilities & Properties: • Concrete Maintenance • Extraordinary General Maintenance and Repairs • Extraordinary Masonry Maintenance and Repairs • Extraordinary Electrical Service, Maintenance and Repairs • Extraordinary Roofing Maintenance and Repairs • Fire Extinguisher and Fire Hoses Service and Maintenance • Gas and Oil Burners, Boilers and Furnaces Inspection, Service, and Repairs • Integrated Access Control, Intrusion Detection, and CCTV Surveillance Systems Service, Maintenance, Repairs, and Programming • Plumbing Maintenance and Repairs • Chillers and Refrigeration Systems Service, Maintenance and Repairs • Vertical Transportation Systems Preventative Maintenance and Service Project Manual and Drawings will be available for purchase on October 12, 2020 at Modern Reproductions (412-488-7700), 127 McKean Street, Pittsburgh, Pa., 15219 between 9:00 A.M. and 4:00 P.M. The cost of the Project Manual Documents is non-refundable.

Project details and dates are described in each project manual.

REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS FOR GUARANTEED ENERGY SAVINGS ACT (GESA) PROPOSALS INCLUSIVE OF ENERGY-EFFICIENT BUILDING UPGRADES Sealed proposals shall be deposited at the Facilities Design and Construction Offices, School District of Pittsburgh, Service Center, 1305 Muriel Street, Pittsburgh, PA 15203 on December 7, 2020, until 2:00 P.M., local prevailing time for: IMPLEMENTATION OF ENERGY CONSERVATION MEASURES ON A PERFORMANCE CONTRACTING BASIS AT THE SCHOOL DISTRICT OF PITTSBURGH Requests for a copy of the RFP and all communications including questions to District relating to this RFP shall be in writing to Aldo Mazzaferro, Director of Technical Services, by email at Aldo@theECGgroup.com copying Michael Carlson (Michael@theECGgroup. com). Project details and submission requirements are described in the RFP. PITTSBURGH CURRENT | NOVEMBER 4, 2020 | 3

STAFF Publisher/Editor: Charlie Deitch Charlie@pittsburghcurrent.com Advisory Board Chairman: Robert Malkin Robert@pittsburghcurrent.com EDITORIAL

Music Editor: Margaret Welsh Margaret@pittsburghcurrent.com Visuals Editor: Jake Mysliwczyk Jake@pittsburghcurrent.com Sr. Contributing Writer: Jody DiPerna Jody@pittsburghcurrent.com Social Justice Columnist: Jessica Semler jessica@pittsburghcurrent.com

contents

Vol. III Iss. XXXVIII Noc. 4, 2020

NEWS 6 | Biden stategy working 8 | PPS still failing black students OPINION 12 | Larry Schweiger Arts 14 | Front Porch Society EXTRA 16 | Savage Love 18 | Parting Shot

Contributing Photographer: Ed Thompson info@pittsburghcurrent.com Contributing Writers: Jody DiPerna, Atiya Irvin Mitchell, Dan Savage, Larry Schweiger, Brittany Hailer, Matthew Wallenstein, Caitlyn Junter, Aryanna Hunter, Nick Eustis, Jessie Sage, Mary Niederberger info@pittsburghcurrent.com Logo Design: Mark Addison TO ADVERTISE :

Senior Account Executive: Andrea James andrea@pittsburghcurrent.com Charlie Deitch charlie@pittsburghcurrent.com

The Fine Print The contents of the Pittsburgh Current are © 2020 by Pittsburgh Current, LLC. All Rights Reserved. No portion of this publication shall be duplicated or reprinted without the express-written consent of Pittsburgh Current LLC. One copy per person. The Pittsburgh Current is published twice monthly beginning August 2018.

The opinions contained in columns and letters to the editors represent the views of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of Pittsburgh Current ownership, management and staff. The Pittsburgh Current is an independently owned and operated print and online media company produced in the heart of Pittsburgh’s Beechview neighborhood, 1665 Broadway Ave., Pittsburgh, PA., 15216. 412-204-7248.

Email us or don’t: info@pittsburghcurrent.com.

4 | NOVEMBER 4, 2020 | PITTSBURGH CURRENT

Climate Crisis and Corrupt Politics By: Larry J. Schweiger Free Shipping Paperback $29.95 or purchase an eBook for $19.00 (Read the first 25 pages for free)

There is only one earth and our world is undergoing dramatic changes brought on by the climate crisis and other human-induced ecological disruptions. The world's top scientists studying these threats and the forces behind them have been warning us for decades to end the use of fossil fuels or face catastrophic consequences. Their long-ignored warnings have become more dire.

Larry Schweiger has long been on the front line of efforts to enact rational clean energy and climate policies and has witnessed efforts to undermine our democratic system that has been rigged leaving America hoodwinked and held hostage to dirty fuels.

Climate Crisis and Corrupt Politics pulls back the curtain on the central role of big oil, coal, and gas interests in American politics through the flow of money to fabricated entities for independent SuperPAC expenditures for mass deception through distorted advertising. Larry wrote this urgent message aimed at parents, grandparents and young adults who care about their children forced to live on the ragged edge of an unprecedented climate crisis. This book is especially for leaders who understand that we must act now with a "Green New Deal" scale response. Together, we must confront and overcome the many toxic money influences, reverse a failing democracy and retake the reins of government to enact policies that secure our shared future and the future of life on earth.

PITTSBURGH CURRENT | NOVEMBER 4, 2020 | 5

ELECTION 2020

THE EMPEROR HAS NO CLOTHES OR RESPECT FOR DEM VOTES BECAUSE JOE BIDEN'S EARLY-VOTE STRATEGY

L

ike many of you, I haven’t been to bed since I woke up on Tuesday morning.

It’s not because I was under some ridiculous assumption that we would know who won the White House.

Unlike President Donald Trump, I know that Election Day doesn’t end at midnight and whoever is ahead at that point is the winner.

But that’s what I heard our President rant and rave about some time after 2:30 a.m.

The President was leading in places like Michigan, Georgia, North Carolina, Wisconsin and, yes, Pennsylvania. But he was losing in a normally Red State, Arizona. He demanded that the vote stop in all of the states he was winning and that the vote continue in Arizona.

He threatened that he would have the US Supreme Court step in. Sounds Crazy right?

Sounds like Donald Trump.

A guy that some people inexplicably keep voting for.

“This is a fraud on the American public. This is an embarrassment to our country. We were getting ready to win this election, frankly we did win this election. We

BY CHARLIE DEITCH - PITTS

CHARLIE@PITTSBUR

did win this election. So our goal now is to ensure the integrity for the good of this nation, this is a very big moment.,” Trump said. “This is a major fraud on our nation.

We want the law to be used in the proper manner.

“So we will be going to the U.S. Supreme Court. We want all voting to stop. We don't want them to find any ballots at 4 o'clock in the morning and add them to the list. OK? It's a very sad, it's a very sad moment. To me, this is a very sad moment, and we will win this, and as far as I'm concerned, we already have won it.”

Except that he hasn’t. Not in anyone’s book. He was livid because Fox News, an unofficial satellite bureau of the White House Press Office, declared Challenger Joe Biden the winner in Arizona.

He was livid because we’re still counting votes in Pennsylvania. Trump screamed that he was so far ahead in Wisconsin and Michigan that there was no way Biden could catch him. Trump, as usual, shows his willingness to lie boldly to the American people because millions of

6 | NOVEMBER 4, 2020 | PITTSBURGH CURRENT

This is the Pittsburgh Current's Election Prediction, created at 270towin.com

ELECTION 2020

MOCRACY: DONALD TRUMP WANTS TO STOP COUNTING Y WILL LIKELY DELIVER THE DEM TO THE WHITE HOUSE

SBURGH CURRENT EDITOR

RGHCURRENT.COM

them believe every bit of nonsense that he spews. That, or he lacks even a high-school level of knowledge on basic American Civics.

A lot of people went to bed last night, seeing Biden trailing Trump in nearly every state that the Vice President needed to win the White House. But when Biden addressed the country last night, he was upbeat, positive and not the least bit worried for a man who was being throttled based on the votes that had already been counted.

The reason? What has unfolded in the past 16 hours is doing so in a way that Biden and Democrats have wanted it to since the very beginning. Their strategy was to get their base to vote early. And while Trump’s campaign strategy involved shitting on Biden, Democrats and anyone who opposed the President. Democrats up and down the ticket concentrated on one messagge: Vote Early.

The majority of votes counted immediately after the polls closed were those, most favoring Trump, cast that day. But the Biden strategy wouldn’t start to show its effectiveness uneil really early this morning. How effective?

Both Michigan and Wisconsin, thanks to early voting, gave Biden a lead for the first time since the count started. And now, at this moment, I believe it’s likely to work.

As I write this, the following states are two close to call: Nevada, Arizona,

Georgia, North Carolina, Michigan, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania. Biden leads in four of those and is competitive in the rest. In Pennsylvania right now, Trump leads Biden by more than 550,000 votes. A short time ago, Pennsylvania Secretary of State Kathy Boockvar says there are more than a million early ballots to be counted. I’ll admit, Trump’s lead in the Commonwealth is much bigger than I expected (an issue we will discuss more in depth in the days to come). But nearly all the votes still to be counted are in Democratic Party strongholds around Philadelphia.

And so far in this election, early voting has overwhelmingly gone Biden’s way.

Here’s how I see things happening.

Please refer to my predictive map prepared on the website 270towin. com. Sadly, I’m not so sure Biden wins Pennsylvania. I hope so, but I think Biden’s win comes without us. He will hold Arizona, Nevada, Michigan and Wisconsin. I also think Pennsylvania and Georgia are in play, but hopefully this map holds and he won’t need it.

Continue to follow this story and all election results at www.pittsburghcurrent.com

PITTSBURGH CURRENT | NOVEMBER 4, 2020 | 7

NEWS

PA G E 7

AFTER 14 YEARS, PITTSBURGH SCHOOLS HAV GAPS BETWEEN BLACK

BY MARY NIEDERBERGER - PITTSBU

I

t’s been 14 years since the Pittsburgh Public Schools entered into a Memorandum of Understanding with the Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission aimed at narrowing the achievement gap between black and white students, but little progress has been made and there remains “an extreme performance differential between black and white students.”

That’s the conclusion from an October 2020 Memorandum of Understanding Report issued recently by the PHRC. The report measures the achievement gaps between black and white students from 2015 to 2020 and is a follow-up of similar reports from past years.

In addition to academics, the October report analyzes the racial differentials between black and white students in suspensions, AP enrollment, AP exam scores, disability and gifted designations and the number of students who are removed from magnet school designations. It also looks at the international baccalaure-

MARY@PITTSBUR

ate successes at Pittsburgh Obama 6-12.

The achievement gaps in the report are measured by students’ proficiency rates on the Pennsylvania System of School Achievement tests in English language arts and math in grades 3,5 and 8 and in science in grade 8 and on the Keystone exams taken by 11th grade in English language arts, Algebra I and Biology.

Because of the COVID-19 epidemic, the report includes no test proficiency scores for 2020.

State tests could not be administered last spring when students were learning remotely.

The widest gap in 201819 was in grade 8 math where just 9.3 percent of black students scored proficient in math and the percentage differential in proficiency between black and white students was nearly 122 percent, the report showed.

“It’s heartbreaking. It’s traumatic,” said Wanda Henderson, a member of the district’s Equity Advisory Panel and an original member of the Advocates for

8 | NOVEMBER 4, 2020 | PITTSBURGH CURRENT

"We don’t only ha we have a ra

African American Students in the Pittsburgh Public Schools.

“This data is prior to COVID. Imagine what it is going to be next year. Now we don’t only have a coronavirus pandemic, we have a racial equity pandemic,” Henderson said.

District spokeswoman Ebony Pugh did not respond to a request for comment from district officials on the

report.

On the PSSAs, the achievement gap between black and white students widened in every grade level with the exception of third-grade math where it was reduced from a percentile difference between black and white students of 91 percent to about 64 percent.

On the Keystone Exams, the gap widened in all three

NEWS

VE DONE LITTLE TO ADDRESS PERFORMANCE K AND WHITE STUDENTS

URGH CURRENT EDUCATION WRITER

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ave a coronavirus pandemic, acial equity pandemic.”

subjects.

While suspensions of 1-3 days of black students were down, so were those of white students, making the percentage differential increase from 99 percent to 104 percent.

The news is better regarding 4-10-day suspensions. The percent of black students receiving the longer-term suspensions decreased from 3 percent to

2 percent while the number given to white students essentially held steady at about 0.6 percent. The percent differential decreased from 133 percent to about 108 percent.

The report notes the “gap between white and African American students remains extremely high.”

When it comes to enrollment in gifted programs, black students are underrepresented. The same holds

true for the successful completion of the International Baccalaureate program at Pittsburgh Obama 6-12.

The Obama results come despite the fact that there are 500 more black students than white students in the school.

Of students who took advanced placement exams in 2018-19, 8.4 percent of black students passed compared with nearly 50 percent

of white students.

Black students are also more often removed from magnet programs for attendance, disciplinary or academic issues than white students and are more often labeled as needing social and emotional support, the report found.

The MOU referred to in the report expired in August.

Henderson said the parties involved are negotiating a new MOU and her advocacy group is demanding that specific metrics are set as goals in the new memorandum.

She said the district includes language about narrowing the achievement gap and erasing disparities in programs and discipline in its documents, but specific goals are never included.

“They produce beautiful documents. But they don’t implement anything. We have a nice piece of paper, but that’s all we have,” Henderson said.

The recent MOU is the result of a protest that started in 1992 when Henderson and other members of the Advocates for African American Students protested the hiring of Louise

PITTSBURGH CURRENT | NOVEMBER 4, 2020 | 9

NEWS

PA G E 7 Continued From Page 8

Brennan, who was white, as the district’s new superintendent, over a black candidate the group said was more qualified.

At the time, Henderson’s children were students in the district. Now she has grandchildren in the district.

The advocates filed a racial discrimination complaint with the Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission against the district, citing racial inequities in academics, discipline and resources.

Though the commission found evidence of what the advocates contended, the complaint was eventually dismissed because the commission ruled that only the candidate who was passed over had standing to file it.

But some of the advocates, including Henderson, continued to push the district on the issues. In September 2006, the PHRC and the district entered into a conciliation agreement that included more than 90 terms the district was to enact in order to close the racial achievement gap, reduce the disparity in suspensions and establish an equity office and hire a full-time equity administrator The agreement also established an Equity Advisory Panel (EAP) to work with the equity office and

Parents of PPS students waited outside of Westinghouse High School in Homewood this past August to pick up computers for their children to use. Parents who were not already in line by 10:30 a.m. were sent home because the district did not have enough devices. (Photo by Ann Belser for Print)

it authorized the PHRC to monitor the district’s progress over the next five years.

It called for the district to make “substantial progress” in removing disparities between black and white students.

After a review in 2012, the PHRC found the district did not make substantial

10 | NOVEMBER 4, 2020 | PITTSBURGH CURRENT

progress and as a result, the district, the PHRC, and the EAP agreed to a memorandum of understanding that extended monitoring for two additional years. But again, no substantial progress was made. A new five-year MOU was agreed upon in October 2015.

Details in the PHRC October report are grim

and show that academic achievement among black students has not made substantial increases and in some cases has seen decreases. As a result, the achievement gap between white and black students is widening across the board with few exceptions.

The grade 3 English Language Arts proficiency

NEWS

rate of about 39 percent in 2018-2019 was up slightly from four years ago. But since white students also saw an increase, the percentage difference between the groups sat at 65 in 2018-19.

In grade 5, ELA proficiency rates dropped then returned to nearly the same level -- 31 percent -- that they were in 2015-16. The percentage differential between blacks and whites if fifth grade was 81 percent in 2018-19.

In grade 8, ELA proficiency rose to about 46 percent in 2017-2018 but then dropped significantly to about 29 percent the next year. The percent difference between the races rose from 63 to 82 percent in the four-year span.

On the Keystone ELA exams there was a consistent decrease in proficiency rates from about 57 percent to 43 percent. The percent differential between the races increased from 37 to 58.

Third-grade math showed improvement in proficiency from 22 percent in 2015-16 to 33 percent 2018-19, narrowing the percentage differential from 91 percent to 64 percent.

“The increase obviously represents a terrific success.

But because the children began at such a low starting point, this performance

would need to be continued to being to reasonably narrow the achievement differential in this area. But it is a great start!” the report stated.

However, math scores in grades 5 and 8 remain dismally low in 2018-19 with about 15 percent of black students scoring proficient in fifth grade and slightly more than 9 percent in eighth grade. The percentage differentials in both grades are astounding at 112 percent for fifth grade and 122 percent in eighth grade.

Keystone scores for black students in Algebra increased from 32 percent in 2015-16 to nearly 47 percent in 2017-2018, but then dropped to about 31 percent in 2018-19. The percentage differential between black and white students was 80 percent in 2018-19.

In science, the proficiency rate for black eighthgrade students in 2018-19 dropped from 22 percent to about 19 percent, with a race percentage differential of 95. On the Keystone biology exam proficiency for black students dropped from 23 percent to 20 percent and an increase in the percent differential between the races was from 91 to 107.

“A review of this data strongly suggests that not

“This complaint is with the board of directors, not the administration. Regardless of who they hire, they are responsible to make them educate all children,” Henderson said. “Nobody wants to deal with the systemic racism in the school district.”

only have(sic) the achievement gap remained in these core subjects, there are many instances where the percentage differential has become greater,” the report said.

Henderson said she holds the school board responsible for the lack of progress.

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Connect your student with the learning support and services that they need to succeed. Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh is your source for resources for learners of all ages and unique needs.

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discover learn CONNECT succeed

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PITTSBURGH CURRENT | NOVEMBER 4, 2020 | 11

OPINION

LEAVING THE PARIS ACCORD?

S

hortly after taking office in 2016, Trump announced that the U.S. would leave the Paris Climate Accord on November 4th, 2020. Today's decision to reject science and abandon the Paris Agreement is making the U.S. the only country to formally abandon our commitment and leaves nature without a safety net.

With more than 130 years of climate science, we should have known that burning fossil fuels puts carbon dioxide in the sky and that carbon dioxide traps heat. Scientists have long warned that carbon dioxide pollution would seriously harm the Earth and its inhabitants.

Having conducted over ten thousand calculations with pencil and paper, Svante Arrhenius published an article in Philosophical Magazine in April 1896. He warned: “We are evaporating our coal mines into the air, adding so much carbon dioxide into the air as to change the transparency of the atmosphere. With each passing year, air must be trapping more, and darker (infrared) rays more and more earthlight. Eventually, this change might very well heat the planet to heights outside all human experience.” Arrhenius used published research, including a carbon dioxide study by Pittsburgh's Samuel Pierpont Langley, who, in 1880, used a device called a bolometer that John Brashear built to measure infrared radiation.

History can be very instruc-

BY LARRY J. SCHWEIGER - PITTSBURGH CURRENT COLUMNIST

INFO@PITTSBURGHCURRENT.COM

tive. The history of climate change reveals an outrageous pattern of suppression of climate science, corporate coverups, and massive funding of disinformation campaigns that continues to this day, moving us dangerously close to a catastrophic cliff.

Numerous organizations from the U. S. Chamber of Commerce, Club for Growth, American Petroleum Institute, the Cato Institute, and the American Legislative Exchange Council have kept Americans confused and dis-

12 | NOVEMBER 4, 2020 | PITTSBURGH CURRENT

tracted. Several dark money political entities too numerous to list are playing a long game with a political stratagem aimed at blocking action on climate change by funding political campaigns, suppressing science, and generating wildly misleading advertisements.

All the world’s major coal, oil and gas companies led the decades-long suppression of climate science. They used their considerable lobbying influence to block legislative inquiries and actions. E&E News recently revealed that

Ford and General Motors knew in the 1960s that motor vehicles caused climate change. Scientists at both companies linked emissions from cars and trucks to climate change. The Center for International Environmental Law found that G.M. and Ford spent decades “eschewing electric vehicles” and fuel efficiency while doubling down on polluting SUVs for greater profits. The automakers were also funding climate denial groups to block international climate agreements and stricter U.S. emissions standards. Automakers, along with other fossil fuel lobbyists and other bottom-feeding shills, have figured out how to put sand in the legislative process's slow-moving gears, particularly surrounding energy policy and carbon pollution control. They are knowingly betraying our children by preventing Congress and the White House from acting in concert with compelling science.

As hard as it is to imagine, there was a time when a Republican President wanted to address climate change.

Running for President in 1988, President George H. W. Bush campaigned as “the environmental president," repositioning his campaign after serving as the Vice President to Ronald Reagan, an anti-environmental President.

On his campaign stop at the Lake Erie Metropark in Michigan on August 31st, 1988, Bush walked on the beach with Tom Washington, the

OPINION executive director of Michigan United Conservation Clubs. "Those who think we are powerless to do anything about the greenhouse effect forget about the 'White House effect.’ As President, I intend to do something about it.''

Bush promised to convene an international conference on the environment, adding that he would invite the Chinese, the Soviets, and officials from emerging economies. "We will talk about global warming, and we will act.'' What happened to Bush's promise and the Republican Party's position on climate change?

Simply put, after the election, fossil fuel interests, the auto industry, utility leaders, and others shut Bush down and that was the end of Republican Whitehouse leadership on climate change.

These industries have manipulated the public and prevented lawmakers from enacting responsible climate and environmental statutes.

Fossil fuel money is not just stopping progress on environmental protection but also thwarting urgently needed actions to save Earth's life.

In the 2020 election, greedy manipulators misled low-information, mostly highschool educated male voters into believing that Joe Biden will end fracking in Pennsylvania.

They activated resentful white male voters in Pennsylvania by clipping Biden's statement during the primary, indicating that he will not lease any more western Federal lands for fracking. Taking words out of context is a pretext. Witnessing repeated dark-money-funded America First Action's ads in recent weeks,

it is easy to see how deceptive anti-environmental forces are well-funded and effective messengers.

Informed voters are critical for a viable democracy and climate solutions to protect clean air, pure water and conserve nature. The combined forces of fossil fuel and libertarian-moneyed interests have robbed our democracy of its essence and dragged planetary security down in its undertow.

To maintain their monopolistic grip on our energy source, preventing clean energy, the major oil/gas companies give money to lawmakers to maintain a salubrious U.S. energy subsidy policy that tilts the entire playing field to their benefit. A recent International Monetary Fund study found $5.2 trillion in fossil fuel subsidies in 2017.

The equivalent of over 6.5% of the global GDP and a half-trillion-dollar increase since 2015. James Ellsmoor writing for Forbes, explained, “The study includes the negative externalities caused by fossil fuels that society has to pay for, not reflected in their actual costs. In addition to direct transfers of government money to fossil fuel companies, this includes the indirect costs of pollution, such as healthcare costs and climate change adaptation.

By including these numbers, the true cost of fossil fuel use to society is reflected."

Big oil, coal, and frack gas interests have played a central role in distorting American politics for decades through the flow of fossil fuel money to candidates directly, through super PACs, and through fabricated entities

with benign-sounding names that distract voters and distort science. They have taken advantage of unrestricted expenditures for deception through misleading and often fraudulent advertising that promoted clean coal, mythical carbon capture, and various other diversions. They have been rewarded for their annual billion-dollar investments when elected officials gauge their support or rejection of legislation based on their donors-not on science or their voters-regardless of how it affects America's economic or ecological viability.

The fossil fuel industry's elaborate control over the American political apparatus has stifled all efforts to control carbon pollution. While those of us in the environmental movement have been upfront about our efforts to protect human health, the natural environment, and end carbon pollution, they were making big plans behind the corporate curtains to subdue the political apparatus. Now that the curtain is pulled back, we can see how they have been rewiring our electoral system to control the outcome of climate change policies, fish and wildlife conservation, and other environmental threats.

Democracy is a fragile thing. Graft and corruption are not new; The fossil fuel industry presents enormous national economic and security risks. Supporters of dirty fuels face fundamental moral and ethical compromises, and their continued support of climate-denying lawmakers is forcing incalculable ecological damage to the entire plan-

et. The erosion of democracy, violations of the emoluments clause, and the dramatic spike in graft and corruption have caused the U.S. to plunge six places to 22nd on the global corruption index in 2018, according to Transparency International. Influence peddling should sober every American who loves democracy and is concerned with the viability of our planet.

The latest Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change assessment does not mince words about the state of our planet. We must act now to achieve global change at a scale that has "no documented historical precedent" to avoid the climate catastrophe that would result from a 2 degree C rise in average global temperature."

To avoid the most catastrophic impacts, we must keep fossil fuels in the ground. To do that, we must rapidly shift public and private investments away from tar sands, frack-gas, and shale oil towards sustainable energy solutions for all. We are past the point where we can rescue summer Arctic ice or avoid destructive consequences of fierce storms, excessive rainfall, mega-fires, extreme droughts, and flooded streets from sea-level rise.

Hopefully, we are not beyond a complete runaway climate system. We cannot be sure. We must now adapt to the climate disruptions we cannot avoid. While doing everything possible to prevent the utter calamity that will befall our children and their children, we must pursue an aggressive pollution control strategy.

PITTSBURGH CURRENT | NOVEMBER 4, 2020 | 13

ARTS

NEW HORIZON T

BY NICK E

N

The cast of Front Porch Society. (Photo Courtesy of Lioness Photography)

14 | NOVEMBER 4, 2020 | PITTSBURGH CURRENT

erves are frayed as voters across the country wait to find out who the next President of the United States will be.

More divided on partisan lines than any time in modern history, and traumatized by Donald Trump’s upset victory in 2016, the country waits with bated breath to see what the future of American leadership holds. For moments like this, it can be helpful to look back, even to recent history, to see what has changed, and what has stayed the same.

New Horizon Theater will be broadcasting their 2019 production of “Front Porch Society” over Vimeo on November 5, 6 and 7 at 7 p.m. Directed

by Herb Newsome, the ensemble cast features New Horizon veterans Stevie Akers, Kevin Brown, Taj Clinton, Rita Gregory, Darrin Mosely Jr., Karla Payne, and Tracy Turner.

“Front Porch Society” focuses on four Black women living in the rural Mississippi delta, on a different historic Election Day. “It’s November 4, 2008 in Marks, Mississippi, and America is on the eve of electing its first Black President,” said Joyce Meggerson-Moore, chairperson of the board at New Horizon. “The storyline is about what this means to four elderly women in this rural town.”

The story centers around town overseer Carrie Honey, who sits on her front porch everyday, discussing the important issues with her neighbors.

Meg them pher “T that abou ting Meg wom segr the s boys histo abou day.

De air o pend is un loss “B traum neat son she’ to tr take direc Me Jack “Fro and 2017 inter mem hom real the c Ne duce play

by M thea COV arch new art o yond

ARTS

THEATER TO BROADCAST FRONT PORCH SOCIETY

EUSTIS - PITTSBURGH CURRENT CONTRIBUTING WRITER

INFO@PITTSBURGHCURRENT.COM

ggerson-Moore likened m to “front porch philosors.”

The whole story is about and these ladies who talk ut all kinds of things siton that front porch,” said ggerson-Moore. “They’re men who’ve lived through regation, civil rights, and senseless killings of Black s. They have all of this ory that they have to talk ut, and they do it every .” espite the excitement in the over Barack Obama’s imding election, Carrie Honey nhappy, still grieving the of her son.

Because of the action and ma that unfolds underth it, with the loss of her years ago, and the struggle ’d been having in the courts ry to get justice for him, it es an interesting turn,” said ctor Herb Newsome. elda Beaty, a native of kson, Mississippi, wrote ont Porch Society” in 2015 2016, and debuted it in 7 in Houston, Texas. Beaty rviewed many family mbers and friends from her metown, drawing on their life experiences to inform characters. ew Horizon Theater proed a live production of the y in 2019, and it was filmed Meggerson-Moore for the ater’s archives. When the VID-19 pandemic hit, these hived recordings gained w life, a way to spread the of theater safely, and bed the city of Pittsburgh.

Fortuitously, the recordings were done similar to the filmed production of “Hamilton,” with camera work to give a more immersive, movie-style production.

“You get close-ups of folks, you get zoom-outs, wide shots,” said Newsome.

This rebroadcasting comes at one of the most pivotal moments in American history, as the 2020 election becomes a referendum on much more than just which party remains in charge.

“I think a lot of the country has lost faith and hope in America, in decency, what it means to be a decent person, what it means to tell the truth,” said Newsome.

In these times that have been personally trying for so many, Newsome hopes that “Front Porch Society” can bring some peace to those for whom 2020 has been an annus horribilis.

“This play is about hope, it’s about the future, restoring that hope. At the end of the show, you really get the sense, from the main character, of what hope means, Newsome said. “I hope people just get inspired.”

“Front Porch Society” will be broadcast via Vimeo on November 5 through 7, at 7 pm. More information and tickets are available at newhorizontheater.org.

OFFICIAL ADVERTISEMENT THE BOARD OF PUBLIC EDUCATION OF THE

SCHOOL DISTRICT OF PITTSBURGH ADVERTISEMENT FOR BIDS

Sealed proposals shall be deposited at the Administration Building, Bellefield Entrance Lobby, 341 South Bellefield Avenue, Pittsburgh, Pa., 15213, on December 08, 2020, until 2:00 P.M., local prevailing time for: Pgh. Chartiers Early Childhood Center Finish Floor Replacements and Miscellaneous Work General and Asbestos Abatement Prime Pgh. Classical Academy 6-8 Bleacher Demolition Project General Prime Pgh. Miller PreK-5 Comprehensive Plaster Repair and Painting General, Mechanical, Electrical and Asbestos Abatement Prime Pgh. Perry High School CTE Cosmetology Relocation General, Plumbing, Mechanical, Electrical and Asbestos Abatement Primes Pgh. Perry High School Bleacher Demolition Project General Prime Project Manual and Drawings will be available for purchase on November 02, 2020 at Modern Reproductions (412-488-7700), 127 McKean Street, Pittsburgh, Pa., 15219 between 9:00 A.M. and 4:00 P.M. The cost of the Project Manual Documents is non-refundable. Project details and dates are described in each project manual.

We are an equal rights and opportunity school district

PITTSBURGH CURRENT | NOVEMBER 4, 2020 | 15

SAVAGE LOVE Savage Love Love | sex | relationships

BY DAN SAVAGE MAIL@SAVAGELOVE.NET

I’m a nearly-80 straight male, with undiminished libido. I have no problem with it, just a persistent curiosity. Like, why now? And why so various? And is it common among us old geezers? Male and female?

I’m more sex-obsessed than ever before, including adolescence. Until my sixties, tits were my sexual focus, and other body parts were strictly subsidiary, whether I was looking, fantasizing, masturbating, or fucking.

Now butts, bellies, assholes, cunts, legs, arms, shoulders are equal turn-ons. Well, I do have one problem: women aren't interested in me “that way” anymore. The secret smiles in public are no longer complimentary or inviting or challenging. They’re just fond, polite smiles for a nice-looking old man. The availability of porn plays a big part in my obsessions. It primes the pump visually, mentally and physically, by showing more body parts

and what can be done with them. Lack of a steady sex partner may also explain my obsession—but I was sometimes without a sex partner when I was younger and I wasn’t similarly obsessed. So is this the usual pattern? Does being relieved of the stress and distractions of work free all retired men—and women—to be perpetually horny or what?

Geezer Energy Rocks Id And Titillates Retired Isolated Chap “I don’t have statistics for GERIATRIC, but I can tell him that wherever his libido falls on the ‘none’ to ‘yowza’ scale, he’s normal,” said Joan Price, author of Naked at Our Age: Talking Out Loud about Senior Sex. “While it’s true that most seniors see their libidos decrease or at least mellow, I hear from people like GERIATRIC all the time—older folks who feel exuberantly sexy.”

What explains the sudden surge in libido experienced by some seniors?

“There’s a freedom to

16 | NOVEMBER 4, 2020 | PITTSBURGH CURRENT

sex in our older years,” said Price. “We may still get those ‘at your age’ restrictive, shaming messages, but we’re happiest and most fulfilled when we ignore them. So I would advise GERIATRIC to enjoy his charged libido and not to worry about whether it's a ‘usual pattern.’ Who cares? It’s your pattern.

You do you!’

And Price says there are women who’d be down to do you too.

“As he sees it, his problem is that the women he desires ‘aren't interested,’” said Price. “As I see it, his problem is that he’s not actively seeking out women who are.”

Your days of picking up women on the street may be behind you, GERIATRIC, but they’re supposed to be behind us all. Instead of making women feel unsafe when they’re out in public by assuming a smile is a signal of interest, Price suggests looking for connections online.

“GERIATRIC needs to polish his seduction skills and get on the dating sites,” said Price. “He needs to show a potential bedmate what he has to offer—and I don’t mean a dick pic. He needs to woo a woman with his words— at least to begin with—and, most importantly, he needs to show interest in who she

is as a full person, not just the body parts that turn him on.”

But don’t get on dating sites if your bullshit detectors were removed with your gallbladder. If someone seems too good to be true—if someone seems too young and too hot to be interested in a guy your age—they’re almost certainly a scammer. And if a flirtatious exchange becomes a sob story becomes a money beg, hit the block button. I’m a firm believer in intergenerational romance, GERIATRIC, but for safety’s sake you should stay in your generational lane. That means getting on Our Time and/ or Silver Singles instead of Tinder and/or Plenty of Fish. For while there might be a small handful of hot twenty-something gerontophiles in your area, the odds of that you’ll find one are too slim to bother trying. And you’ll have better luck going after women closer to your own age.

“Libidinous older women are out there, I can assure him,” said Price.

But you’ll have to do the work, GERIATRIC, “since most will want to feel safe and appreciated as well as desired before they invite him into their beds.”

Finally, GERIATRIC, seeing as the horny old man has been a cliché for

SAVAGE LOVE as long as men have existed, I don’t think you should blame online porn for your predicament.

Some people’s libidos ramp up as they age, like Price said, and it sounds like you’re one of those people. Maybe instead of seeing porn as the cause of all your problems, GERIATRIC, you could see porn as your friend. Solo sex can be good sex and porn is there to help you enjoy it.

Follow Joan Price on Twitter @Joan Price. You can find Price’s books and the educational film she made about senior sex with porn star and sex educator Jessica Drake at her website www.joanprice.com.

Pre-COVID I was in the whirlpool at a hotel spa when an elderly gentleman asked if I wanted a foot massage. There’s only one reason a guy offers another guy a foot massage: he was gay and into feet. I’m straight and not into feet but I said, “You can rub my feet—but just my feet, no higher.” My wife insists this means I had a “gay encounter.” I say it was gay for the other guy but not for me. What say you?

Fighting Over Our Terms P.S. We’re not really fighting.

Not all encounters with gays count as “gay encounters,” FOOT, but seeing as this was clearly an erotic experience for the elderly guy and you knew it—you weren’t being secretly perved on—I’m going to side with your wife. Even if you didn’t get off on it, even if you were just enjoying the massage, you knew the other guy was getting off on it.

I’m a 45-year-old straight woman in a monogamous relationship with a 48-year-old straight man. One thing that keeps playing over and over in my mind is something he said to me three months into our relationship. He spent the night for the first time at my place. We were laying in my bed the next morning, just talking and enjoying each other's company, when his phone beeped. He read a text and then said, “That was my friend Susan. I can't wait for you to meet her. I think you're really gonna like her—oh, and she sucked my dick twenty-five years ago at a rest stop in New Jersey.” It turns out “Susan” is his best friend. I had not met her yet and this was the first thing I knew about her. When I asked why he told me this, his response was that he was half asleep. He wasn’t.

When I pressed further he told me it was something that happened a long time ago and that they laugh about it now but then told me it was none of my business! I agree! It’s none of my business! So why did he feel the need to tell me?

Then he told me Susan can never know I know because she would feel humiliated.

But that's exactly how I feel! Are Susan’s feelings more of a priority to him than mine? I’ve hung out with him and Susan three times. I have asked if we can get together again, as a group, so I would feel less insecure about the times they get together without me, but there’s always some excuse for why it’s not possible. It’s been a long time since I’ve been in a relationship and I’ve invested a year in this man.

He is a decent guy otherwise, Dan, but this nags at me.

Boyfriend’s Long-Ago Blowjob Your boyfriend was either playing head games— meaning he was fucking with you on purpose—or he lacked the emotional intelligence and/or impulse control to realize why sharing something like that, at a moment like that, was a bad idea. If he’s the kind of guy who enjoys tormenting the women he dates,

BLAB, he would’ve done similar or worse things by now. (And a woman he dated a quarter of a century ago probably wouldn’t be on speaking terms with him, much less one of his closest friends.) Assuming he hasn’t done similar or worse—I’m guessing you would’ve included other examples in your letter if he had—perhaps he deserves the benefit of the doubt here: he said something stupid and thoughtless, he couldn’t come up with a good explanation for why he said it, and doesn’t like to be reminded of it. As for Susan… he’s known her for 25 years. If he wanted to be with her, he’d be with her. And he may be reluctant to get together as a group because he worries—perhaps not without cause—that you might bring it up. If he’s given you no other reason to suspect he might be cheating on you, cram this ancient blowjob down the memory hole. mail@savagelove.net Follow Dan on Twitter @ FakeDanSavage.

On the Savage Lovecast, Dan chats with Adam Sass, author of Surrender Your Sons- an escape from conversion camp thriller. www.savagelovecast.com

PITTSBURGH CURRENT | NOVEMBER 4, 2020 | 17

PA R T I N G S H OT

PITTSBURGH CURRENT PHOTO BY JAKE MYSLIWCZYK PITTSBURGH CURRENT | NOVEMBER 4, 2020 | 18