Sandusky settlements / Penn State BOT

Before I get started, mark your calendars:
"THEY HAVE DISGRACED THESE MEN 
AND THE INSTITUTION THEY HELPED BUILD"
http://march4truth.com/
I can only hope this is an epic event.

The Penn State Board of Trustees answers to nobody.
My favorite, recent post:
http://notpsu.blogspot.com/2013/09/eileen-morgan-psu-bot-does-it-answer-to.html

 3 things that have bothered me the most for some time now:

- Nobody seems to care about the rights of Spanier, Curley or Schultz.

- Two people have admitted knowing the true nature of Jerry Sandusky: Tom Corbett and Matt Sandusky...and they seem to be untouchable.

- Nothing of significance has changed. Lots of shiny objects going on.

Settlements are unsettling...where to start?

The elephant in the room: Matt Sandusky

I have written about him for a long time and very few people seemed to notice or care, until recently. I believe there is a significant difference between making reasonable inquiries as opposed to accusations...and his storyline and all public information begged a lot of questions...and nobody offered any explanations. So, here we are, again...probably a day late and a dollar short (figuratively and literally).

Review this:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2061035/Penn-State-scandal-Jerry-Sanduskys-son-Mark-tried-kill-himself.html

Excerpts:

"Local Pennsylvania newspaper The Patriot-News released the court records of Matt Sandusky's adoption, including a letter that he wrote to the court imploring the judge to allow him to stay with the family. 

'I would like to be placed back with the Sanduskys. I feel that they have supported me even when I have messed up. They are a loving caring group of people. I love both my biological family and the Sandusky family,' he wrote at the time. 

Matt has been unflinching in his support of the family, singing their praises to a sports Illustrated reporter when Jerry Sandusky left Penn State in 1999.

'My life changed when I came to live here,' says Matt. 

'There were rules, there was discipline, there was caring. Dad put me on a workout program. He gave me someone to talk to, a father figure I never had. I have no idea where I'd be without him and Mom. I don't even want to think about it. And they've helped so many kids besides me,' he continued. 

Matt is still extremely close with his family, and that hasn't seemed to change since the news of the scandal, much to his ex-wife's chagrin."

Review this from Eileen Morgan:
http://www.statecollege.com/news/columns/sandusky-vs-sandusky-its-in-the-numbers,1374106/

Liability issues seem to have a life of their own. 

I would assume Penn State has liability coverage for any kind of crime/injury/mishap on it's property. So would the Second Mile (hauling children all over the state...accidents, injuries, etc.). Kinda like us having homeowner's insurance for when a thief gets injured breaking into our house and we have to pay for his hospital bills. There's a difference between approving money earmarked for payment...and actually paying it out. I'll give trustees the benefit of the doubt on that one.
However, the willingness to accept guilt tracks back to presentment days. Also, there was a public accounting of dissent at the last BOT meeting (emerti status)...so the fact that trustees cannot dissent on anything doesn't seem to hold up.

Apparently, we have no right to know...it's like we are the poor relatives

When it comes to traveling in high circles or power groups, I am the guy drinking shots and beer at the mimosa convention. I'm not a good fit at country clubs and garden parties, either. I know all this.
I have no money problems...because I have no money.
It doesn't make me stupid.
Read this and explain to me how much money bonds are worth, how much money was lost in the drop of interest rates...and $883million in debt?
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-10-26/sandusky-scandal-leads-moody-s-to-cut-penn-state-s-credit-rating.html

Excerpts:
"The rating has a stable outlook because the victims’ claims should be manageable at that lower ranking, Moody’s said."
"A Penn State bond maturing in 2040 traded yesterday to yield 3 percent, compared with 3.2 percent on July 24, according to data compiled by Bloomberg."

SNIPPETS

• Apparently, you can commit almost any kind of crime today...if you claim to be a Sandusky victim.
• There is no point in even discussing a fair trial.
• "False narrative" is catchy, but it just isn't strong enough.
• PSU is not settling with victims to prevent anything else....doesn't make sense. Anyone withholding information from an ongoing criminal investigation is commiting a crime.
• There is a BIG difference between criminal and civil trials...take the O.J. Simpson case for example...or just ask Ken Frazier.
• I thought they said "morale" officer...and the fencing coach just wasn't peppy enough.
• There is a word for "conflict of interest": Lubert...or Frazier...or...
• When you start keeping score with money, you de-humanize everything.
• The BOT answers to a higher power: Moody, Standard & Poor.
• Khoury: the BOT does not "force" trustees to alter independent decisions...they are given "choices": (1) Our way, or (2) the hallway.
• The Penn State Board of Trustees has agreed to settle with the victims of the BP oil spill.
• LaVarr Arrington is selling "Free Joe" t-shirts for $15ea. Think about that.
• The BOT committee on governance formed a sub-committee to "search" for candidates to hire an expert on governance. Well played.
• Recent tweets: "I thought they said DON AMECHE."
• I'm calling a moratorium on all words that begin with "mal"....except "content."
• How exactly is one supposed to break through the following for relevant information?: ongoing investigation, confidentiality issues, non-disclosure, GJ secret, attorney/client privelege, personnel matters(HR).......
• These are separate issues with me: PSU and the BOT,  Freeh and the NCAA, criminal and civil actions, Joe Paterno and the Paterno family.
• The only thing I remember about 1998 is that it was preceded by 1997 and followed almost immediately by 1999. I Googled it to be certain.
• NCAA lawsuit: legal experts maintain that only people who can prove monetary damages (Paterno licensed merchandise) have a chance. PSU and/or the football team is not part of the suit.
• Do people go on Twitter just to screw up their reputations?

Take celebrity out of the equation. 

It doesn't matter to me whether the coach's name is Joe Paterno, Joe Palooka or Joe College. I stand and fight on constitutional rights...and they have been trampled on. McGettigan and Fina didn't need to hold a press conference to show us they had nothing on Paterno. They had nothing on anyone else, either...and now, they continue to affect upcoming trials with unsubstantiated remarks. The scathing indictment of Joe Paterno (and Spanier, Curley, Schultz) was by Louis Freeh...and endorsed by the BOT, both in his report and personally...only Spanier got it right.

People who have expressed the possibility of another Pulitzer Prize in this saga are more right than they know. But it has to come from outside the Penn State community and from people who can take an unbiased view of the facts.

NOTEWORTHY LINKS:

The definitive site(s) when it comes to factual analysis:
http://notpsu.blogspot.com/
http://www.sanduskyreports.com/

Zeigler v. McGettigan/Fina:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ktyn4hYhGrY

"This Consent Decree may be modified or clarified by mutual written consent of the parties."
http://co.centre.pa.us/centreco/media/upload/PATERNO%20COMPLAINT.pdf

Masser apologized. Not to Penn State, the community, the alumni. He apologized to the...BOT:
http://www.psu.edu/trustees/pdf/120618%20Masser%20Statement.pdf