Required Jerry Sandusky/Penn State Readings

This in my humble opinion is a diverse list of required reading if you want both well-researched fact and cogent opinion. I hope this helps you form a holistic understanding of what has been going on in Happy Valley under Emperor Paterno where descent and outsiders were not tolerated until last week when the FBI strolled in to town. I did not truncate this entry because of its importance.

Ross Douthat’s fantastic piece in The Times “The Devil and Joe Paterno” this past weekend and his colleague Maureen Dowd’s equally powerful missive.

Penn State grad Sara “I do feel very strongly about local journalism. We’re losing it and that’s very sad” Ganim’s (and her many fans) many fantastic pieces in The Patriot-News including the original expose in March of this year, which was followed-up by a more publicized but equally scathing piece by Mark Madden.

Charles Pierce at ESPN’s Grantland repudiation of Penn State’s phony game day response to the tragedy and self-absorbed image intoxication.

Mike Francesa’s equally scathing opening of his show on WFAN in NYC.

Mr. Pierce said it perfectly when responding to the adulterated use of prayer circles and scripture by stating emphatically

“The crimes at Penn State are about the raping of children. That is all they are about. The crimes at Penn State are about the raping of children by Jerry Sandusky, and the possibility that people lied to a grand jury about the raping of children by Jerry Sandusky, and the likelihood that most of the people who had the authority at Penn State to stop the raping of children by Jerry Sandusky proved themselves to have the moral backbone of ribbon worms.”

Mr. Madden a noted bombastic figure but spot on with respect to Sandusky went on WEEI in Boston’s Dennis and Callahan Show with an even more outlandish but at this point not plausible claim. He told the interviewers

“I can give you a rumor and I can give you something I think might happen. I hear there’s a rumor that there will be a more shocking development from the Second Mile Foundation — and hold on to your stomachs, boys, this is gross, I will use the only language I can — that Jerry Sandusky and Second Mile were pimping out young boys to rich donors. That was being investigated by two prominent columnists even as I speak.”

Ms. Ganim’s recent summary of her and other’s work at The Patriot-News.

Again Ms. Ganim’s who knew what and when conspiracy piece.

WFAN’s Mike Francesa interview series as well as is his continued willingness to keep the issue on center-stage in the country’s media capital NYC.

Francesa and the Reading Eagle’s Rich Scarcella.

Francesa interview’s YES Network journalist and Penn State Grad Kim Jones.

Francesa’s November 10th show opening monologue.

Francesa’s November 9th show opening monologue.

Francesa and Jones again.

Francesa and Jones November 8th.

Francesa with FightonState.com’s Mike Brennan.

The original story breaking nationally at The Times which focused on Sandusky but equally on the indictment of Gary Schultz, the senior vice president for finance and business, and Tim Curley, the athletic director.

George Vecsey’s fantastic piece speaking to the fiscal and moral capture of communities like State College, PA by big time NCAA football only surpassed from an opinion perspective by that of Mr. Pierce.

Dissension amongst Pennsylvania’s lawmakers as they scramble to take cover in the wake of their dysfunction and Paterno idolatry being uncovered for the whole world to see.

The fact that

Judge Who Set No Bail for Penn State Sex Abuse Suspect Volunteered for Him

AND of course if you dare AND you should dare the Sandusky-Grand-Jury-Presentment itself.

Not So Happy Valley

We are on the verge of finding out that one of the greatest and most disgusting coverups of all time was committed in State College, PA by none other than Joe Paterno and his minions and it will extend vertically and horizontally across the state. This is the case of a college football program ripping a page out of the playbook of The Vatican and they will come up similarly soiled. I strongly recommend everyone reading this read the Grand Jury account to see the extent of former Paterno assistant coach Jerry Sandusky’s predation. Please consider reading the account of Sandusky-Grand-Jury-Presentment and then ask yourself if – and I stress if – this was relayed to Paterno then he needs to leave his position and Penn State has so much explaining to do that it should have started decades ago. I don’t usually find myself attracted to these kinds of stories but this one speaks to the loss of innocence, sports corruption, and administrative capture in supposedly above-reproach academic institutions. There is even the possibility that a murder or permanent relocation of Centre County, PA District Attorney was linked to his failure to prosecute Mr. Sandusky at a time that no doubt would have prevent some of Sandusky’s most horrific abuses of power.

This is sad story because you have a man in Joe Paterno that presumably for many many years lived an exemplary life only to be swallowed up by the temptations of absolute power and the image he had commendably created. He had a predator in his midst that he felt should simply be relieved of his keys and access to the locker rooms. This is vintage Catholic Church stuff but in this case you have a legacy that will be remembered for facilitating countless acts of sexual molestation by Mr. Sandusky. I found the Grand Jury PDF extremely hard to read but more importantly found myself amazed that apparently Mr. Paterno read the same thing….AND DID NOTHING!

Mr. Paterno is probably the most important man in the history of the state of Pennsylvania and that is not an overstatement. He represented the right way to comport yourself as a coach and member of the community. Was it all a lie? Probably not but at the very least Mr. Paterno’s errors of omission proved equally perilous relative to Mr. Sandusky’s errors of commission. Penn State Athletic Director Tim Curley and vice president for business and finance Gary Schultz are being charged with perjure for their failure to report what they were told by a graduate assistant coach to the appropriate authorities. Immediately upon silencing himself the aforementioned GA was promoted again and again and again. I wonder why? Looks like a duck, walks like a duck…

Sadly Penn State students continue to chant “We Want Joe” and “Joe Pa-Ter-No” in support of their beloved coach. That is fine but I hope they understand this is not a game and very serious allegations are currently being investigated with the potential to render their support of Joe Pa looking childish at best and completely insensitive to the condition of the victims at worst. I would suggest they focus on their classes and hope that all of these horrible allegations are a bad dream. Innocent until proven guilty but the trend line is heading in the wrong direction.

The Trillion Transactions of the Tao

Of the birds a million years’ more than me how much more than me you must know. Mass balance mobility movement migration flight perspective. Head for caves, up cycle your home. See all swim in the heavens grounded, tell of the seed from the stone.

Calling all designers! Should our money be the symbol of freedom or the symbol of slavery? Liberty, equity, currency. Native ancient sea. I see sand over dollars. From which mint the coins by the sun and moon.

Man sport work earth place art flavor sex and love in letters of the name. No need for want. The liberation equation.

Send the curriers to the mint. Bring me seven heaven sent. Go global viral spinning spiral. Read the rest of this entry »

Putting Solyndra In Perspective

Many on the right and the middle are whining and pointing fingers in every which way demanding scalps for the mess that is Solyndra. However, I would just like to put this manufacturer of thin-film solar cells in a bit of big federal government perspective with nothing but numbers.

1. $560.1 million – this represents the total handouts to Solyndra, with $535 from the Department of Energy and a $25.1 million tax break from the state of California…0.015% of Obama’s 2011 Federal Budget.

2. $700 billion – this represents the Bush-Paulson carried out and Obama-Geithner stewarded Troubled Asset Relief Program…18.97% of Obama’s 2011 Federal Budget

3. $1 trillion – unilaterally issued Federal Reserve program called the Term Asset-Backed Securities Loan Facility (TALF) designed to infuse money into the pockets of already under water consumers with the aim of goosing consumption…27.00% of Obama’s 2011 Federal Budget

4. $144billion to $323 billion – the first number represents what the disastrous F35 was supposed to cost and the second what it will cost when it is completed…8.75% of Obam’s 2011 Federal Budget

5. $22 billion 30 people – the cost in dollars and deaths of the V-22 (aka Osprey) one of the Pentagon and the Military Industrial Complex’s favorite cash cows along with the aforementioned F35. As NPR’s Graham Smith reported:

“In a nutshell, the story of the Osprey is it cost more in time, money and lives than anything else the Marine Corps ever bought”

Three major accidents gave the Osprey its bad reputation and earned it the nickname “The Widowmaker.”

The worst, in Arizona in 2000, killed 19 Marines.”

SO when considering who to pick on and who to hold accountable by any means necessary it is important to acknowledge that the folks at Solyndra are deserving of the criticism they are receiving for extorting money from the federal government, but it is way more important to address the Big Fish as it were feeding at the tit of the Pentagon. I can’t defend Solyndra’s actions but I hope that this brief post put them in perspective relative to a far more important and costly addiction to tools of war and the propping up of Wall Street. The Occupy Wall Street movement has brought attention to the crimes of Wall & Broad. An even greater level of extortion has been occurring in the parallel and opaque universe that revolves around the Pentagon.

At least Solyndra was an attempt to wean us off our addiction to hydrocarbons, while the Pentagon could be excused for being under the impression that it’s charter is solely to perpetuate and lubricate that addiction.

Concrete Suggestions for Occupy Wall Street

Excerpt from a project I am working on and a helpful blueprint for how to curb irresponsible activities throughout the financial services industry:

According to the FDIC you Mr. Big Banker (i.e., 109 banks with more than $10 billion in assets) have no qualms with giving depositors a measly 0.8% annually, while the country’s 7,651 local/smaller banks paid 1.29% vs. values of 0.49% and 0.69% in 2009 [275], respectively, even though it was you not them that we the taxpayer bailed out and we Generation X will continue to feel the austerity backlash of for years to come. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist or a fifth-grader for that matter much in the way of mental exertion to understand how easy it is to mint huge profits when you borrow money from The Fed or investors for the aforementioned paltry rates and lend it to private citizens or the Tim Geithner led Treasury at 3-4%, however, in doing so you Mr. Banker are failing to do what you most likely state in your charters “furnishing money to firms and funding capital investments.” [276] We need our banks to act as utilities not casinos. Banks must stop making in the words of the Bank of England’s Andrew Haldane mirages look like miracles and just do your boring but admittedly useful service to society absent extraordinarily leverage and quarterly bonuses. If they refuse Generation X must by any means necessary make them stop because their reckless gallivanting is only hurting the long-term viability of this country and in a more circuitous way this planet and possibly even the true principles of democracy. This will involve Generation X when we get the reins of power putting serious constraints on capitalism and more specifically the financial sector including the ten steps listed below: Read the rest of this entry »

On Making The Connections…

Such beings the earth will influence as the other planets influence us now.

In this time the wires are the winners. They spring from the earth in ever greater volume, in a brilliant array of color and function. From the microscopic to the transformers, the earth is a great ball of growing wire conducting currency. Armies defend the wire; banks, doctors and schools wrapped in it. The rapidly evolving synthetic cells of an electronic organism. It’s all about making the connections.

Circles and cycles the lesson plan. From nothing to something, and back again.

Time is the oldest and most highly evolved of animate organisms. Guaranteed to live the longest, too. Runs forwards and backwards. All things have time, all things take time; time takes all things. From the time you were born, to the time you will die.

Ups and downs, inside man. For those that haven’t heard, the story went something like this… Read the rest of this entry »

Post-Unemployment Stress Disorder

Consider the real or fictitious call for austerity among DC, Wall Street, and Brookins/Cato/AEI elites one of my favorite radio personalities Tom Ashbrook presented one of the best shows on the subject of structural unemployment and the notion that – just like engaging in war – the rest of us are being asked to sacrifice for the whims and arrogance of old white men.

I have pasted my response to the show below because while it deserves the attention it gets PTSD has a new cousin in The Great Recession Fallout which I simply describe as Post-Unemployment Stress Disorder. I should know I have it and have it bad on some days better on others………..even though I now have a job!

I would add that I recently ended a 9 month drought after having completed a Ph.D. here at the University of Vermont. It was brutal and the uncertainty (true uncertainty not the BS kind referred to on Wall Street or by big business) has delayed my marriage to my favorite human being and delayed us having children. I still suffer what I call post-unemployment stress disorder (PUSD) which manifests itself in me looking for better/more secure jobs even though I have one. I was right in doing so because I found out yesterday – thanks to my insistence as I have another great job offer – that my current employer who had already changed my contract from 2yrs to an 8mo probationary period that they were not going to guarantee me a contract extension. This was not the rough and tumble world of business but rather academia. I was told that if I hadn’t come to them with this other job offer and an ultimatum they might not have let me know of my status until the days prior to the contract’s expiration in October. This is no way to treat people even if you do have leverage! Employers are in the catbird seat and that is generally a good thing as it yields the best corporations or in this case academic institutions. However, there is a certain degree of decency that is missing from Main St, Wall St., and DC for how you treat your fellow man/woman especially in a jobs environment like the one we find ourselves in. That means giving people proper warning so they can prepare or improve their lot. That means understanding that when you do let someone go they are going to be fending for themselves for – chances are – quite some time and maybe even 2.5 years as one of the guests on Mr. Ashbrook’s show described. The UK prime minister David Cameron made a great point in the aftermath of the London Riots recently that decency is no where to be found in The City, Parliament, and at the country’s numerous Murdoch owned rags. So why when the “common man” sees this should they operate by a different set of rules? Leaders need to lead and not divide, condescend, or obfuscate. Like his opposite number in DC Mr. Cameron talks a big game but I would be willing to bet that the have nots of Tottenham like the have nots of Watts, Gary, Indiana, Detroit, etc. will suffer a more oppressive case of austerity than any of the latter offenders.

I am amazed at how callus people are in the face of having someone’s career in their hands. Such a flippant disregard for basic short- and medium-term needs is really not what this country is about….At least that is what I thought!

I will be fine and my fiance and I will have a wonderful marriage and an even more wonderful child but what I will never forget about this Great Depression is the rapidity with which people backed away from words like loyalty, respect, fairness, and transparency. I for one will always have the scars of the uncertainty and unknowns that soaked into my every fiber during this recession. They say that Depression children saved every nickle etc. Well I think my generation and those that were unemployed for a prolonged time will always have in the back of our minds when the next shoe is going to fall. Especially those of us not looking to get filthy rich but rather just teach or give back to the planet or our fellow man nothing gaudy or selfish but simply good work that doesn’t involve off-shoring or newfangled “financial products”. PUSD is real and I am sure I am not the only one that feels this way. I don’t know when this fear and anxiousness will go away but I hope soon because it really sucks! It is not made any better when we see the haves with such contempt for basic decency and empathy. The ovarian lottery has been cruel to some and unnecessarily generous to others, while others have fought out of the former to reach the latter economic prosperity, but that doesn’t mean we should paint such broad strokes on those that have not fought out of the cruelties of the lower quartile. Most likely it ain’t their fault and piling on while forcing them to eat spinach as the oligopoly eats cake is not what I think the phrase “American Exceptionalism” means. Warren Buffett seems to be coming around to this notion!

Ready for Change?

In this excellent editorial (recommended for AdPopulum readers by Ted Auch), Laurence Kotlikoff discusses the urgent need for a viable third party candidate in American politics. Read the rest of this entry »

They Are Both Right!

Well we finally had a higher up in the Obama administration rebut Hamid Karzai’s “occupier” accusations. The fact is that both sides in this little tiff are correct. We are occupiers and Karzai is nothing more or less than a well placed and insanely rich – and getting richer – heroine dealer if not addict. Read the rest of this entry »

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