Sandusky aftermath rolls on....

People in academia have referred to many of the recent adventures at Penn State as "teaching moments."
So, what have we learned?
Well, for starters:

The Pennsylvania Guide to Grand Jury Presentments:

- Make any accusation you want...against anybody you want.
- Make it as long and as sordid as you possibly can.
- Call a press conference to read it aloud...lotsa microphones and cameras.
- Make it late on a Friday afternoon.
- You will need a tripod and really bad, blown-up mugshots of the accused.
- Surround yourself with really serious-looking people, maybe a police commissioner.
- Provide flyers with provocative language and more bad photos of accused.
- You will not have to answer questions...because grand juries are secret.
- The accused cannot defend themselves...because grand juries are secret.
- When done properly, there will be no need for evidence or a trial...because the media and general public will take of that for for you.

Pretty cool, huh?
To borrow a previous layout, your work may look something like this:

Of, course, Linda Kelly worked in concert with, and has since eloped with Louis Freeh (who was actually "engaged" to.. or by Ken Frazier), but the point remains the same:
Who needs evidence, when you can just drag people's reputations through the mud, attack their character and ruin their lives and careers? Good times.

  

Lettermen
I support this group and their efforts to right wrongs, with regard the treatment of Joe Paterno and the sanctions imposed by Erickson...oops, I meant Emmert...oops, I meant the NCAA. Whatever. So, we are faced with fighting fire with fire...or in this case, football with football. Not exactly how this is supposed to play out, but here we are. The average person is not going to get national attention, so we are left with marquee name blowbacks. This is not the group that should be staring at cameras and microphones...but the situation dictates it.
I am concerned about several things:

• No mention of the Surma Vendetta against Paterno at the BOT meeting.
• No mention of Corbett's role in Paterno's firing at the BOT meeting.
• No transparency over the meeting with Corbett on the date of Paterno's memorial.
• Several have indicated a willingness to throw administrators under the bus.

Here's the deal - Paterno was fired in disgrace. There is no spin for that. The BOT cannot change the language, nor will they...until AFTER the trials of Spanier, Curley and Schultz. They hint at it, even gurgle the expression of due process when it suits their agenda...and this is one of those situations.

Justice vs. Money
Presumably, justice was served when Sandusky was tried and then sentenced to prison for his crimes.
Others, who have been indicted (under the guise of justice) are sliding over onto the "prosecutorial misconduct" pile.

On the other hand, due process is a non-factor in civil law. Civil law is determined over at the teller's window. Let see, the insurance companies tell you what the cap-per-person is, the attorneys take their 60% and the victims have now established a price for the crime. No trial is necessary. Everyone is guilty, but it's a win-win. Go figure. (Keep an eye on the cap if the insurance fails and PSU has to foot the entire bill)
Personally, I'd make everyone go to trial and prove it. What a concept.

I have yet to see or read anything substantial with regard to actually helping victims, with the exception of donations to RAINN. I think there's a $12million loan/rainydayfund/sanctioned/ncaa/lawsuit/pa/lostinspace bag of money floating around somewhere.

Not one single word or story about cleaning up gov't agencies and reporting procedures.
Nicknames are starting to surface:

• Paul "3 weeks" Suhey
• Ira "rent free" Lubert
• Paul "Mack the Knife" Silvis
• Linda "Return to Sender" Strumpf
• Keith "No Mas" Masser
• Ken "White Men Can't Jump" Frazier
• Stephanie "Pom Poms" Deviney
• Karen "Pearls of Wisdom" Peetz
• John "Vendetta" Surma  

 All trustees deserve recognition for their efforts over the last 15-16 months.

 SNIPPETS

---Compared to our trustees, politicians are starting to make sense. God help us.

---Know why trustees don't care what legislators think? - They make 10 times the money and probably control who gets elected.
---Leave it to Frazier to drag another football player into this. See? It wasn't racist, it was football!
---Frazier doesn't care if Spanier, Curley and Schultz are acquitted or not.
---Frazier doesn't care about due process.
---Frazier swings the "children come first" baton like he invented it.
---Say what you want about Ken Frazier...(I mean that. Say what you want.)
---The Sandusky-related expenses to Penn State has reached $17 trillion rubles.
---I tried to follow the money, but I keep getting lost and confused.
---When it comes to PSU fighting the NCAA sanctions, I believe it was Gene Marsh who told everyone to sit down and shut up...there was nothing that could be done. (Not his exact words, but I think I captured the essence).
---Masser is shooting for a dishonorable discharge.
---Checked my inbox on the Mark Sherburne question. Nothing.
---Checked my inbox on the Matt Sandusky question. Nothing.
---Committee restructuring is about as dynamic as changing the colors on name tags.
---The Board has approved the formation of a Tsk Tsk Force.
---Silvis defended Deviney in a Facebook forum with a "knife in the eye" reference.
---Has there ever been better examples for piercing the veil?
---McQueary's testimony, the Freeh Report and Baldwin's paricipation are so screwed up, they are starting to look better as defense witnesses than for the prosecution.
---Costas is a start. Anderson Cooper and the rest of the bigshots need to review all this.
---McQueary's lawsuit hinges on the interpretation of what someone said. Sound familiar?
---Don't get me started on Pepper Hamilton / Deviney's firm / Baldwin. Too late.
---The misinformation and cheap shots on Twitter knows no bounds.
---We can't get rid of any of these people, but they are working on the "Lubrano Rule," so they can.
---The proposed number of trustees is now set at 674.
---The alumni election(s) are approaching and fracturing will be a major player.
---The governor can't vote. The president can't vote. Well, most evidence suggests that nobody actually votes, anyhow...2-3 people decide something...and nobody dissents. THAT'S how they vote. duh.
---Deviney gave Lubrano a harsh glare. Girls Gone Wild.
---In an effort to get something in the win column, Tom Corbett just sued himself.

Once again, nothing has changed. Really.

Stay on point, people.

DUE PROCESS. BILL OF RIGHTS. FREE SPEECH.

NOTEWORTHY:
Ray Blehar has the definitive interview:
 http://notpsu.blogspot.com/2013/03/ray-blehar-interview-with-whvl.html?spref=tw

John Zeigler appears to be scheduled for the Today Show on Monday. This radio interview was posted recently regarding Steubenville:
http://www.blogtalkradio.com/stranahan/2013/03/21/steubenville-attacks-on-the-coach-with-guest-john-zeigler
I would rather see any of these people face-to-face with the BOT than Freeh again:
http://www.paterno.com/Default.aspx

Things are going down the wire as elections approach. I believe PS4RS is reaching it's final 3 this weekend:
http://www.facebook.com/#!/groups/ps4rs/496093520438261/?notif_t=group_activity

In closing -
Remember the Lion logo with the teardrop? It should have been this:

What do you expect when you sucker punch a Lion?

Penn State trustees - Hiding in Plain Sight

We need to play fair.

There are so many people getting so-o-o-o-o much press...it just doesn't seem right that anyone should have to suffer from group anonymity. We talk about the Penn State Board of Trustees as though it is this singular thing. But no, grasshopper...there are many individuals that deserve recognition for the role(s) they have played in this neverending melodrama. We need to fix that.

I can't get a roll call. They insist on this unanimous thing. So be it.

I give you:

Exhibit A - Betsy E. Huber

We could do this like those "employee of the week" posters back in the breakroom, but one way or another, EVERYONE needs credit for their accomplishments.

Now, I know next to nothing about Betsy E. Huber. But, I know this much - she is responsible for firing Joe Paterno, forcing the resignation of Graham Spanier, hiring Erickson, firing Sherburne, hiring Joyner, hiring Louis Freeh, accepting the Freeh Report, accepting the NCAA sanctions, paying Mitchell and encouraging civil suit settlements without the benefit of due process...for starters. Her name will forever be linked to these historical events. THAT'S POLICY.

Does it even matter if a trustee has voting priveleges? Emeritus status? Where's the discussion? Voice of dissent? What, exactly, are they there for?

Every time the media mentions the Penn State Board of Trustees, I recommend that ALL the members names be included. No sitting in the shadows. If you didn't like what was going on, you should have spoken up. EVERYONE needs to be held accountable. Why should everyone else get all the press? Photos and bios are helpful. Maybe a plaque to commemorate all their good deeds?

And here they are:

Steve Garban, Rodney Erickson, James Broadhurst, Michael DiBerardinis, Kenneth Frazier, Edward Hintz, Keith Masser, Linda Strumpf, John Surma, Tom Corbett, Richard Allan, Ronald Tomalis, Alvin Clemens, Mark Dambly, Peter Khoury, Ira Lubert, Paul Silvis, Marianne Alexander, H. Jesse Arnelle, Stephanie Deviney, David Jones, Joel Myers, Anne Riley, Paul Suhey, Keith Eckel, Samuel Hayes, Barron Hetherington, Betsy Huber, Carl Shaffer, Karen Peetz

      http://www.pennlive.com/midstate/index.ssf/2012/01/penn_states_board_of_trustees_1.html

*I'm not sure I have all the names right, considering the sequence of events for the last 15-16 months, but the overall point remains the same. If there is a name missing, or one that should be deleted, I will be happy make correction(s).

Question: Who on the Penn State Board of Trustees said:

• "Wait a minute. We need more time to evaluate the situation."
• "Excuse me...we're firing who?"
• "I'm not voting at this time."
• "Have you lost your freaking minds???"
• "If this is way we do things, I resign."

Answer: Nobody

You like irony? Sure you do.
Try this:
There is nobody on the Penn State Board of Trustees who is qualified to be the president of a university. They don't have the skillset or academic credentials. And yet, these are the people that decided Graham Spanier lost institutional control (within 48 hours), hired Erickson...and will choose his sucessor. Swell.

SNIPPETS

--The trials for Spanier, Curley and Schultz have been moved to The Twelfth of Never.

--According to the prevailing logic, if Sandusky had been a former trombone player, we would have spent the last 15 months skewering the Blue Band.
--Watching Corbett, Corman and Emmert fight over PSU sanction money is pretty close to watching hookers fight over a street corner. Besides, Corbett's and Corman's history with The Second Mile kinda bothers me.
--Spanier was not the only magician at Penn State. Peetz, Surma, Corbett and Frazier made ethics disappear.
--Frazier confuses being arrogant and condescending with being tough...something he can't quite pull off.
--Surma has set his own timetable for departure from this debacle and will go unscathed. I can't describe how much that pisses me off.
--In one video, Peetz actually used the word "superlatives" incorrectly...made me laugh, but there's nothing really funny about that woman.
--I cannot keep track of where the money is coming from to pay for all this. We have these mysterious piles of cash lying around, apparently.
--It's probably just me, but the time to bitch about the NCAA sanctions was before we accepted them.
--It's probably just me, but the time to bitch about the Freeh Report was when he published it.
--It's probably just me, but the time for outrage was November 8, 2011.
--BREAKING NEWS!: Insurance companies don't want to pay out.
--It seems as though the Penn State chapter of the Ron Musselman Fan Club has merged with the Dan Wetzel and Desmond Howard chapters.
--It's probably just me, but isn't it kinda stupid for Myers and others to say "the NCAA was wrong and should admit it," when they all agreed to it (backing Erickson)?
--If legislators really wanted to do something meaningful, they would (1) clean up the government agencies and procedures related to child abuse and (2) restrict/ban the use of grand jury presentments in their current form.
--In reality, would any of these people be backpeddling and questioning the Freeh Report if it weren't for the professional analysis of Ray Blehar and the Paterno family (see Paterno.com)?

--For what it's worth, anyone who is a coach, I refer to as "coach." Always have.
--Former PSU president Bryce Jordan had to learn from his wife that he was still on the board of The Second Mile...22 years after his retirement. Is that a Raykovitz thing or not?
--There seems to be a legitimate case for this: Linda Kelly commited "prosecutorial misconduct" with false information in her presentment.
--Thanks to the efforts of the Penn State Board of Trustees, there are no unemployed attorneys.
--Murder, arson and domestic violence just doesn't seem to turn heads like it used to (re: Matt Sandusky/Heichel family).
--Notice how little I write about football and sanctions? I'll let you know when I think this is about football.
--I see Mitchell got his first $million from us. I was concerned.

 

Worthwhile links. Maybe you've seen/heard/read them. Maybe not.
 

"The scandal surrounding ex-football coach Jerry Sandusky and others at Pennsylvania State University is casting a spotlight on a distinctive part of the state's criminal-justice system.

In the federal system and most states that use the grand-jury system, grand juries typically unveil their criminal allegations against someone in an indictment or a criminal complaint. Such documents are usually tersely worded and can run as few as three or four pages, stating only the most essential factual allegations. They also often use initials or pseudonyms to protect people who aren't criminally charged.
But Pennsylvania is one of a handful of states in which grand juries occasionally issue a "presentment," or report, to convey their findings. Presentments, including the one this month in the Penn State case, read as narratives rather than a set of allegations that must be proved in court.
The use of presentments was common in the early part of the century but is now infrequent in many states and extremely rare in the federal system. When they are used, they often try to point out widespread or systemic failings within an institution—not to single out individual wrongdoing."
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970204517204577042491094936470.html

"The Board absolutely adores seeing things differently from everyone else—and thinking that they alone understand what is going on."

http://www.bennovak.net/2012/04/whats-up-with-the-board/
 

"In reality, the PSU officials’ behavior suggests that they had absolutely no idea

Sandusky was ever a pedophile."

http://notpsu.blogspot.com/2013/02/did-penn-state-officials-know-jerry.html
 

Corbett-remember the ten-year-old:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TnNfGo5_tfk
 

BOT contradictions:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VPL0NMixmxc
 

Lubrano comes as close as anyone to voicing my sentiments...in this interview:
http://wrscfm.com/content/morning-guys-kevin-and-jeff/post/anthony-lubrano-interview

 

"It’s possible that the social norms in this brave new domain will change once more — with users shunning meanspirited attacks from posters hiding behind pseudonyms and cultivating civil debate instead.

Until then, beware the nasty effect."

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/03/opinion/sunday/this-story-stinks.html?smid=tw-share&_r=0

FINALLY

I try to keep up with Blehar, Zeigler, Bozeman, Morgan and others at PS4RS, Freedom Fighters, Framing Paterno, Paterno.com, etc...and similar people/groups that show the tenacity and resourcefulness to support due process, PSU governance issues...and especially, the victims.

I know that some people are tired of hearing about the Freeh Report, but it goes to the heart of the matter. It takes a lot of staying power to right a wrong.

"Truthers" - welcome to losing your personal identity courtesy of the media's penchant for pigeon-holing like-minded people with a label. According to most national columnists, you are now incapable of independent thought. To make matters worse, take a look at Twitter. All it takes is one schizophrenic nutcase, with a sprinkle of Tourettes...to have his/her obscenities assigned to your group. Of course, I'm talking about "journalists" who use Twitter as a source. I'm fortunate that I can support a group and still be the lone wolf, loose cannon my mother always said I was.

It transcends incompetence. I cannot shake the overwhelming sense of betrayal exhibited by the Board of Trustees. There have been times when I want to be wrong about them, but the facts just keep getting in the way. It's one thing for the Emmerts and Freehs of the world to do what they did...and the media. But, when your own family turns on you, abandons you and does exactly the opposite of what this place stands for...it is unforgivable.

*I hope the links work. I haven't used them before.