Penn State / Paterno / The Rest of Us

ONE FLEW OVER THE CUCKOO'S NEST...revisited.

They fired a coach without due process. They forced the president to resign...because he wouldn't fire the coach and supported his co-workers. They abandoned their administrators. They fired Sherburne. Hired Erickson. Hired Joyner. Hired Edelman. Removed names. Removed a statue. They plead guilty to everything imaginable. Hired Freeh. Accepted his report. Accepted NCAA sanctions. Hired Mitchell. Hired a civil suit attorney from 9/11....

There is a perfectly good reason for the Penn State Board of Trustees to have done all this:

Most of them are idiots.

Now, snicker if you must.
However, if your nostrils are aflarin' and your cheeks are starting to pucker, consider this - I only have so many choices available to reconcile their abysmal track record. I really don't subscribe to the darkside, so I went for the easier, softer way. Now, I think we can all agree that I'm not exactly a lightning rod for intellectuals, so my critics could say "well, it takes one to know one."
Ironically, though, that would validate my point.
Checkmate.
Being wealthy and/or powerful doesn't make you the smartest person in the room. But, it does make you dangerous. I have written about many of the people involved in previous posts, so I'm not going to repeat it all...they are all still there. It's like a nightmare that never ends. Jesus.
If we're gonna repaint a room, first we need to scrape off all the old shit.

Nothing has changed.
Look around. Of the 31 people responsible for this nightmare, 28 are still on the board. They've just been playing musical chairs. Corbett is still governor. Surma is still there. Peetz is still there...chriminy, they are all still there. Masser is the chair, for chrissakes.
Nothing has changed.
Look, we can get as mad as we like at people like Freeh and Emmert, but the fact is, Freeh could have concluded this was the work of aliens or a band of gypsys...it doesn't matter. Men like Freeh and Emmert have seemingly no redeemable qualities...so, what does that say about the people that seek them out? The Board of Trustees accepted the Freeh Report* and acted upon it, like it was the Holy Grail....and so did Linda Kelly (it was the impetus for more charges against Curley and Schultz, and an indictment against Spanier...and Paterno, had he been alive). But most of all, the media ate it up.
*Look, I don't care if it's "accepted" or "approved" or "after the fact" with regard to Freeh's hire or Erickson's signing of the consent decree. The BOT is the group that grants the power to do so. AND, they are cornered with their "all things unanimous" policy.

Freeh most likely doesn't concern himself with slandering people in public or getting sued...if he is acting as an instrument of and representing Penn State's Board of Trustees. THERE'S a bunch of lawsuits just waiting to happen.

The Paternos.

It's now time for Clash of the Titans. It's not which report came out first. We'll see who gets in the last word. Most importantly, one does not have to be a member of the lettermen's club to have a say, or have a stake in the outcome...that will play out in a much larger venue than Beaver Stadium.
Step away from football for a second: I have had the benefit of 60 years of positive influence from a man, a school and a community. That's a debt I will never be able to repay. People need to go to Paterno.com and actually read the reports written by experts. It's not a question of critiquing their work, it is required for educational purposes. They contain...FACTS.

Can you keep a secret?
Tom Corbett can. He even has a secret handshake. He likes grand juries...they're secret. He likes priveleged relationships...they're secret. He likes ongoing investigations...they're secret. He likes confidential meetings with PSU lettermen...they're secret. He likes civil suits, because non-disclosures are...secret. But, most of all, he REALLY likes being a PSU trustee...because everything they do is a secret.
But unanimously, of course.

This is all you need to know:

PRESENTMENT.    BOT.    FREEH.

Tom Corbett was the major player in all three.

Gricar/Corbett/Kelly
Let's review. This entire saga is predicated on what some people did or did not see, say or did not say, in 1998, 2001, 2002....well, pick a year.
After 13-14 years, 3 AGs and a grand jury, countless investigations and testimony, Tom Corbett would have us believe this was a major victory...45 COUNTS!
Prosecutors just LOVE counts.
The last time I looked, they managed to put away one old man. ONE.
Let's use the County Fair analogy, Tom. If you eat ONE ear of corn, you do not get credit for 247 kernels. Just ONE ear, Tom. ONE.

And, you could have ended this a long time ago.

We'll see what Kane has to say about that.

It's getting ugly over on Twitter...or, as I call it, The Anonymous Fight Club.

This is where people go to throw short jabs and wear masks. The land of RTs and "Favorites."
I have 544 "followers," which is equal to, or less than, the number of people at a grand opening for Ben and Jerry's. Check your I.Q. at the door and hope for the best. My stats:
Total followers: 544...of those, here's the breakdown:

• Salespeople: 365
• Poledancers: 38
• Trolls: 107
• People who use their real name: 29 (not to be confused with @bert vs. @therealbert)

When I post something important, at least 17 people form a wave.
OK, OK, I'm poking fun...but, really. Like any other resource, if you can avoid getting sucked in to the vitriol and passion that can be expressed in 140 keystrokes, there are plenty of good people out there...and they provide links to articles and information of merit on many subjects. If you can locate people like: Zeigler, Slaten, Rubin, Blehar, Morgan, etc., and the groups they are affiliated with, I believe it would be time well spent...they are putting in a lot of time and hard work that is grounded in common sense, logic and facts. You can say you owe it to Twitter...like me. 

SNIPPETS
- Jake Corman is "outraged."
Well, do tell. According to my calendar, he's about 15 months too late and I'm not impressed. It's like taking a swing after the ball is in the catcher's mitt. This is the same guy who sued the NCAA or sponsored a bill "to keep the fine money in PA." Think about that. He accepts the Freeh report and Emmert's sanctions and fines...he just. wants. the. money. And, besides, he was on the board of The Second Mile...so, there's that.

 - If we can put a man on the moon, why can't we make it Louis Freeh?...or Tom Corbett?...or Mark Emmert?...just askin'.

- THON - remember when it was just the right thing to do? Now, we have to brag about it?
- 2nd Mile - I have no compassion for people who profit from charities. On the other hand, over a period of 30 years, I would believe that thousands of kids were helped by thousands of adults who had their hearts in the right place...donating their time and money. It's just sad.
- Sherburne - I always ask...nobody answers.
- Matt Sandusky - someday. someday.
- Mitchell shows up every so often to collect his bag 'o cash and tell us what good little boys and girls we are.
- Kevin Slaten - is back on the radio. He stuck his neck out when it wasn't the thing to do.
- Greg Buttle - a kindred spirit who knows the proper use of the word "cabal."
- Ryan Bagwell - he has been trying to get BOT documentation on contracts, etc., exercising Right to Know options...and getting constantly stonewalled. (I think this is right...correct me if I'm wrong).
- Al Clemens - broke away from the BOT pack. Good for him.
- Phil Knight - sacrificed a friendship for business and PR. As far as I'm concerned, he burned that bridge. He turned his back on Paterno for the greater good of Nike and that's all I need to know about the man.
- McCombie - gets little or no credit for being the first to sue the NCAA (he was asked to put it on hold) and the only trustee to invoke the due process standard to shelve a vote to remove Schultz's name from it's center. Stand-up guy from day one.
- Taliaferro - crossed over. Junior partners in a law firm do what they're told...AND he went to the Corbett compound as part of the confidential lettermen gathering...on the anniversary of Paterno's death. Now, he wants us all to consider the Paterno "rebuttal" and claims the BOT did not actually accept the Freeh Report.
- Lubrano - marches to the beat of his own drummer and he's a calming influence. He says Freeh's bill was/is closer to $12million...but who's counting?
- Victim video - I heard this announcement from one of the attorneys, and once again, I am at a loss for words. - Speaking of victims...other than trotting in a few celebrity speakers every now and then, I never hear much about what's actually being done...for them...and I don't mean civil suits. - Mainstream media has entered the "oops" phase.

- PSU Football - college football will always survive, because, like Wall Street, it's too big to fail.

- There is a disconnect with today's student body because most of the people involved in this fiasco still think Chippendales has something to do with furniture.

FINALLY

1. Based on what we've learned, there seems to be a systematic maze that has reporting procedures, confidentiality issues, minors' rights, agency requirements, legal ramifications and law enforcement restrictions that make these crimes a nightmare to charge, let alone prosecute. Then, there's the victims' ages, "grooming" issues, dysfunctional backgrounds and the insiduous nature of the crimes themselves. We can be as informed as possible and know all the "red flags," but that seems useless if the state and state agencies do not have laws and procedures that are enforcible. Once again, there's no accountability....which brings us to:

UNLESS YOU ARE A FOOTBALL COACH OR ADMINISTRATOR AT PENN STATE.

That smell is not coming from the cow barns.

2. Everyone, including me, is excited to see the Paterno family enter the fray. They have the power and presence to make an impact, where the rest of us cannot. But, I will not hesitate to remind everybody that there are 3 other respected members of the community awaiting trial...and this is not a popularity contest.

SPANIER. CURLEY. SCHULTZ.

They are entitled to the same courtesy and rights.

DUE PROCESS. BILL OF RIGHTS. THE CONSTITUTION.

Once again, these are my rights and these are your rights. Make it work.

I need 10,000 followers and a bigger stick.