Saturday, July 28, 2012

MY LAST COMMENT ON THE PENN STATE FIASCO

Since the beginning of the Penn State revelations I have debated the edict of the NCAA upon the football program. It’ not the financial aspect, but rather that the penalties levied on past contests and on future contests as it relates to to the individual player, I think, is not relevant to the crimes committed by the six individuals involved. In short I believe that a great deal of overkill has taken place. Most of the response to my objection has been emotional in nature. In virtually every feedback to my argument people have responded as to how insensitive my point of view is towards the victims and the damage done to the young minds and their emotional future.

My answer, of course, is that the debate on the victims is a foregone conclusion and no further discussion is needed to illustrate the outcome of those heinous acts perpetrated on them and the effect on their future. Anything further is redundant and not the significance  of my deliberation. The  subject here is punishment for crimes committed.

In comments submitted to Facebook, ESPN, the Boston Herald, and my local news outlets, the first outrage is how lacking I am in feeling for the victims. Many scenarios are given about collateral damage in these instances. Mostly they point to the fact that players can move on, play elsewhere, or just play on with the circumstances. But the punishment for evil doing is the castigation put upon players past and present that some how they are guilty by association as is the football program at Penn State which is so evident with intrusion of the NCAA into  punishment that belongs in the judicial system for conviction of child molestation.


The monetary fines imposed, the university having agreed to it, I can understand. The program ,no. And here is my position. When I started this opposition early on locally, the scenario given relating to collateral damage to crimes committed by individuals was that of Rod Blagojovich and his children. The writer relayed the misery due to the absence of their father and the how they suffer due to no fault of their own. That's collatteral damage. In trying to digest this, my first thought was, what utter nonsense as it pertains to Penn State. The state of Illinois did not put restrictions on Blago’s children . They were not denied recognition for accomplishments of past years. They were not forbidden to participate in future events and denied the award for any accomplishment. They were not denied access to the local parks. There was no indication of guilt being placed upon them through being associated with their father . I rejected the whole thing outright. Collateral damage is one thing but indicating guilt by association is quite another.

The next objection I ran into was in reference to a reply I got in the Boston Globe. I made the suggestion in my rebuttals, what if Mr. Sandusky had been an associate professor in the physics department and the same ten year scenario had gone on. The question I asked , would the Academy of Arts and Sciences have decimated the physics department ? Would they have taken away scholarships ? Would they have erased the previous ten years of awards and recognitions of students ? Would they have abolished the future participation of students in science fairs and off campus seminars ? The reply I got was astonishing in it’s hypocrisy. The commenter said yes, they probably would have. And there we have the hypocrisy of an independent body issuing punishment on the university. Those who dislike football programs and football in general think that because the guilty party was associated with football and Paterno was involved that the cover up was about protecting the program and Paterno.

The hypocrisy here is that the commenter believes that the physics department would have suffered the same fate. Many, more than likely, believe it also. One problem remains however, and that is the fact that there were three high level officers of the university that I’m sure, when it came to nitty gritty, would not give a damn about Paterno or the football program. There only thought would most likely have been about their jobs and legacy in the history of the school. Following that line of reasoning, then why only the punishment of the football program. The top three were not fully associated with the program but had more responsibility to the school as a whole. And yet, other than the the fines and monetary penalties levied by an outside athletic organization, there is absolutely no cry to penalize the school as a whole. Where is the state board of education. Why not the whole university  put on academic probation ? Why not the whole university guilty by association. So now the hypocrisy of punishment for child molesters.

I hardly believe the physics thing would have happened for the simple reason that the physics department does not bring in the enormous amount of money that the football program brings in. The sole purpose for extending punishment to the football program is "that's where the money is". The NCAA is somehow empowered to punish public felonies by simple association.

Let's understand something. In the public sector the punishment for the same heinous crimes that were committed at Penn State would be the incarceration of the 6 or 7 people involved in those crimes. One, so far, seems destined to that end. But people who see little educational benefit in the major schools athletic programs think that punishment of the evil doers should, in some cases, include all the schools if they had their way. My question still remains, at what point in retribution does justice cease to be relevant.

If we delve into the justice system at large we see convicted child molesters given probation (Virginia) or short two year sentences(New York, convicted of 48 counts). My point here is that people approach the punishment of these hideous crimes of child molestation with too much maudlin emotion. At Penn State we want the death penalty for a program, but in Virginia probation is warranted. Not cover up mind you, but the actual crime.

In an interview the other night, a one Dr. Keith Ablow, a phychiatrist, was asked if he thought the NCAA had meted out the right punishment. Of course he thought that possibly not enough was done. The conversation then turned to the afore mentioned New York case. The mentioning of Jessica's law was brought up and immediately Dr. Ablow displayed his displeasure with the Jessica's law and it's mandate of a 25 year mandatory sentencing guideline. And there we have it. Liberal thinking jumps on the fact that punishment by association endows empathy for the plight of abused children, but then it can, somehow, come to the conclusion that mandatory sentencing is bad because, as Dr. Ablow said, there are " extenuating circumstances" in every case.

I'm just wondering, just between the two of us, what side of hypocrisy should we be on.

Saturday, March 03, 2012

IS THE CONTRACEPTIVE CONTROVERSY A FLUKE ?

IN READING THROUGH SOME ARTICLES AND BLOGS THE OTHER DAY, I CAME ACROSS AN ARTICLE ON THE APPEARANCE OF MS. FLUKE IN FRONT OF THE HEARING HELD BY CONGRESSWOMAN NANCY PELOSI. THE ACCOMPANYING PHOTO SHOWED CONGRESSWOMAN PELOSI SEATED IN AN OVER SIZED EXECUTIVE CHAIR PERCHED ON HIGH LIKE THE QUEEN BEE IN THE NEST. MS.FLUKE, OF COURSE, SEATED AS THE SUBJECT.


WITHOUT GOING THROUGH THE PROS AND CONS OF SEMEN BLOCKAGE, I USUALLY FIND THE MOST INTERESTING PARTS OF THE DISCUSSION IN THE COMMENTS SECTION OF THESE WRITINGS, AND FOR YOUR ENJOYMENT OR NOT , I FOUND THE FOLLOWING ,WHICH I GIVE YOU HERE............



Hey, for all of you old geezers out there, let's not look a gift horse in its mouth. We gotta get on this sexual benefits band wagon. I think we all know that Medicare Part D insurers do not cover ED Drugs like Viagra and Levitra; in fact these vital drugs are not even covered by most private Health Insurance Policies. This is an atrocity and is unfair and discrimatory against the elderly and men in general. It's an obvious violation of our basic sexual rights and places an undue financial burden upon those of us on fixed incomes. We must support Ms Fluke in soliciting government funding for our vital medical needs. The Government must show more concern for the health needs of the elderly. Our demands in this area are certainly just as justifiable as the demand for FREE contraceptive services. The Obama Administration is an aggressive supporter of fairness and will most certainly give our cause a fair hearing.

C'mom guys....make our voices heard, we demand fairness. We are being abused by a broken health care system that is certainly discriminatory and unfair. WE demand our...

******************************************************************************

THE MAN HAS TO BE AN INVENTOR...BEARS LOOKING INTO


The real question in all of this is what is Ms. Flukes carbon foot print? What is the environmental impact of all of this latex flying around? Can the feds use Obama Care to force a strategic alliance between Trojan and Ziplock to create an environmentally friendly reusable condom and package?


******************************************************************************

JUST MY OPINION, BUT THE FOLLOWING ONE IS VERY GOOD.


Substitute 'hunter' and 'ammunition' to Ms. Fluke's testimony... and it might sound like this:
“And especially in the last week, I have heard more and more of their stories. On a daily basis, I hear yet from another hunter in Wyoming or from another hunter or who hunts for their food, and they tell me that they have suffered financially and emotionally and medically because of this lack of ammunition.
“And so, I’m here today to share their voices, and I want to thank you for allowing them – not me – to be heard.
“Without ammunition, hunting, as you know, can cost a hunter over $3,000. For a lot of hunters who, like me, are on public assistance, that’s practically an entire summer’s salary. 40% of the hunters in Wyoming reported to us that they struggle financially as a result of this policy.
“One told us about how embarrassed and just powerless he felt when he was standing at the gun counter and learned for the first time that ammunition was not covered and he had to turn and walk away because he couldn’t afford that ammunition. Hunters like him have no choice but to go without ammunition.
“Just last week, a married hunter told me that he had to stop using ammunition because he and his wife just couldn’t fit it into their budget anymore. Hunters employed in low-wage jobs without ammunition coverage face the same choice."

******************************************************************************


What are we doing to our women?
Next, 30 year old coeds will be standing on busy street
corners carrying signs, WILL WORK FOR CONTRACEPTIVES.

******************************************************************************

I note most of the commentary coming from the guys with just a few ladies weighing in on the subject. It would appear that Ms. Fluke has been screwing her brains out and is too stupid to get $9 pills at Target. (Moderator feel free to insert another word than "screwing" nothing else seemed to work quite as well) Whatever the woman is paying for her Georgetown education she should ask for her money back, because it isn't working. Somebody should have told the young woman she could be making oodles of money in Nevada at a place called the Bunny Ranch for something she is obviously doing for free.

******************************************************************************

I wonder if BHO would so proud if one of his daughters were engaging in this kind of behavior and told the whole country? As woman, I am mortified that this young woman would trumpet her "sluttiness" far and wide to the whole country and then have the gall to tell the rest of us we should pay for her contraceptive pills. A poster woman for the entitlement mentality and it promotes the idea that women are too stupid to manage their own bodily functions and need the government to take care of us. I am so glad I am not her mother.


FINIS