George Zimmerman and Trayvon Martin

kjkj;kjTime for another post on the pussification of our great nation. 

I'm writing this article days after the not guilty verdict in George Zimmerman's second degree murder trial.  Like most everybody else, I've loosely followed this case since it happened by watching cable news channels and occasionally reading an article on it.   What made me finally read up on the case was the news media coverage following the trial...it just seemed too over the top.  Some of the statements made by the media after inflammatory.  Some of the statements are misleading to skew the facts of the case and purposefully stretch this case into a civil rights case.

The first thing I'd like to note, is how many cases people can  point of out of similar shooting incidents that havent gotten media attention like this one has.  Another thing I've noticed is that George Zimmerman is latino, with african american relatives and african american blood flowing through his veins, but it seems to the news media...he's white enough.  He's white enough and he shot a black man and even though the verdict is not guilty, it doesn't mean he didn't do anything wrong according to popular sentiment and news media reporting its part of popular sentiment. 

Well so, if I'm going to write my opinion on this case on my blog, I figured I'd better get a little more informed on what's transpired than what I've seen on CNN.  So I turned to wikipedia, and they have a great bit of information on this case.  If you have an inkling that George Zimmerman someone might be in the wrong and that Trayvon Martin shouldn't have died, I highly recommend you first visit wikipedia and read the facts before you make any final decision. 

Does George Zimmerman deserve to go to prison for killing a young man?  The local police department didn't think so right from the very first night.  After five hours of questioning, they released him.  Then all the political and racial outcry started and suddenly they brought in a special investigator to bring charges, they certainly didn't wanna touch it themselves because they new it was a case of self defense.  Could George Zimmerman have done things differently to avoid killing Trayvon Martin?  Yes.  Could Trayvon Martin have done things differently to avoid being killed?  Most definitely Yes.  George Zimmerman could have stayed in his car and Trayvon Martin would probably still be alive today.  But he had a right to notice someone suspicious in his neighborhood and he had a right to confront that person (non-violently) and ask him what he was doing there. 

Now assuming all the information is correct, this is basically what happened:  George Zimmerman noticed someone suspicious walking in the rain cutting through someone's probably and looking around suspiciously.  He noticed this just a short time after there had already been some break-ins in his neighborhood.  The guy didn't seem like he belonged there.  Zimmerman phoned the police and reported him.  Zimmerman got out of his car and was trying to track this individual on foot while he was talking to police, the police told him to back off while at the same time asking him where the suspect was going and what he was doing.  Which you can infer, would naturally encourage someone to investigate further.  Zimmerman then got off the phone with police and was headed back to his vehicle.  It was about two minutes from the time he hung up the phone until police arrived. 

During that two minutes, Zimmerman headed back to his car and was confronted by Martin.  Martin came out of some bushes or somewhere in the dark where he'd been hiding and asked Zimmerman if he had a problem.  They exchanged some words and Martin told him he had a problem now and attacked him.  The end result of that was Zimmerman screaming "HELP!" for at least 40 seconds while no one answered and during that time he suffered a broken nose, two black eyes, a split, swollen lip and multiple bleeding lacerations on the back of his head.  (It might be interesting to note that there were no reciprocal wounds found in Martin's autopsy, other than the gunshot would, he had a split knuckle, possibly from punching Zimmerman repeatedly, but no other injuries.)  Now according to Zimmerman, after scuffling and being attacked by Martin in the dark, with no one answering his cries for help, with a bloodly broken nose and two black eyes, his clothing opened and revealed his gun.  When Martin saw the gun, he said to Zimmerman, "You're going to die tonight".  

And so with all that transpiring within two minutes the police arrived with Martin lying shot on the ground and Zimmerman explaining to police that he had shot Martin in self-defense and then immediately surrendered his weapon. 

Martin was a stupid kid who made some bad decisions and paid for it with his life.  Zimmerman was simply defending himself plain and simple.   Zimmerman claimed self defense.  The police agreed with him and released him.  Even after special investigators came in and charged him with murder, a jury still found him non guilty, essentially agreeing it was self-defense.  Which brings me to the first reason on why I'm posting an opinion on my Pussification USA blog.  Why are they not investigating the special investigator?  I think with all the facts and all that has happened, it's obvious they brought in someone and made it clear, after political and public racial pressure, that this special investigator was supposed to charge him regardless of the facts.  Thats Wrong.  The special investigator, regardless of any outside pressures, should have went on the facts and found him innocent as well.  He should've never been charged. 

The second reason why I'm posting this on my blog is from watching all the media news reports, I wish I remembered this guy's name, he was really out to get Zimmerman, so much so that even the "satellite correspondants" on the show with him didn't fully agreed with what he was saying.  I think the media and certain individual have turned this into a racial issue and creating racial propaganda in a case where it simply didn't exist.  After reading on George Zimmerman, he had african american blood relative, he's helped african american young groups in his past.  Even if for some reason he did have something against african americans, nothing in his actions that night showed any racial prejudice on that evening.  Yet certain individuals and the media persists in aggravating this to the point of trying to frenzy people into action.  Its propaganda.  Its wrong. 

Its very sad that Martin had to die, I'm sure his mother and family know very well that he wasn't a truly bad person, wasn't a violent person and didn't deserve to die.  Yet on that one night, for that one moment, to George Zimmerman, Martin scared Zimmerman to the point of him fearing for his life.  To the point where Zimmerman felt he had no other choice than to defend himself to save his own life.  And most people who are acquainted with the facts agreed Zimmerman did act in self-defense without racial prejudice.  It most certainly could've been avoided.  But Zimmerman certainly had a right to pursue a suspicious person and ask him what he was doing in his neighborhood and Martin certainly could've chose not to react violently to Zimmerman. 

With no signs on being hit or attacked in Martin's autopsy, it was clear that George Zimmerman never struck Martin hard enough to cause any bleeding or bruising so that puts Martin as the aggressor.  I think for the rest of us, we all need to put ourselves in Georgle Zimmerman's place for a moment and ask ourselves what we would have done?  Its dark, and out from the brush comes a man who breaks your nose, gives you two black eyes, a fat lip and pounds your head hard enough to cause bleeding lacerations on the back of your head.  Then this man discovers you're armed and it angers him, he threatens to kill you.  During all of this, you've been calling for help for nearly a minute and no one has answered your calls, no one turned their porch light on, no one came outside, no one yelled "Hey I'm callin the cops".  Nothing.  Its dark, you're hurt, scared and after being struck in the head multiple times, maybe you're not too sure how much longer you can stay conscious.  You can see the man coming towards you again, and you only have 1 second to react, one second to grab the gun and fire or risk having the other man getting the gun away from you and killing you with your own gun.  What would you do? 

An interesting cartoon from 50 years ago.

SLEEP APNEA: Medical Descrimination Begins Here for Truck Drivers

http://www.landlinemag.com/Story.aspx?StoryID=22353


Well I talked to a friend of mine the other day and I was alarmed to discover that he is now required to use his CPAP at least four hours nightly, nearly every night for the rest of his life, or he could lose his commercial drivers license, (CDL).
He's not an over-the-road truck driver he only drives in the local area.  Unlike me, he has a much milder case of sleep apnea and he's perfectly able to function without using his cpap machine if he chooses to.  I have to admit, I'm feeling this hit and taking it personally myself as he came to me when his sleeping issues began and I encouraged him to seek out treatment from his doctor.  Now, it seems he'll be forever stamped with a sleep apnea stigma on his CDL and the powers that be will walk all over his rights by compelling him to submit to periodic data collection and review, as well as a doctor's inspection if he desires to retain his commercial driving status.
I am so completely enraged by this, it just reeks of the kind of injustice, political and corporate greed that is the essence why I put this site together in the first place.  This is why drug testing in the work place is bad, this is why seat belt laws are bad.
You take an argument, make it sound perfectly logical and rational, you say its for safety reasons, and every bit of it is absolutely right. Except for the fact that it just completely tramples basic human rights, privacy, personal freedom and happiness.  And usually, someone, somewhere is making a buck off it.
This is why I hate drug testing requirements and laws in the workplace.  Just as some people say cigarettes, alcohol and marijuana are "gateway" drugs to the harder street drugs (which I think is crap), but thats what some people say, I look at drug testing as a "gateway" requirement that leads to more and more reductions in the individuals personal freedoms here in America.
And now here they've taken another step beginning with truck drivers and I'm sure if this kind of shit is allowed to continue, it won't stop with them.  Now, if you're diagnosed with sleep apnea, you are required have a computerized machine hooked up to you at least four hours nightly which assists your breathing while you sleep and also monitors and records data from these sessions which you must submit to your work and/or government agencies to prove you are using the machine properly.
Additionally, if you're not currently diagnosed with sleep apnea but through measuring your Body Mass Index (BMI) and the circumference of your neck, if you any of those numbers put you in an "at-risk" category, you will be required to submit to a doctor's examination to determine if you have sleep apnea.
The article I put above discusses the cost to the truck driving industry alone at 5.25 billion which will be paid on an individual basis by medical coverage and more so by the truck driver since in many cases they don't have adequate medical coverage.  For reference, my own sleep study and cpap machine cost was around $5000...that was several years ago.  Prices have risen since then, my friend he owns a machine which cost twice what mine did, it rings in at $4000.  So many of our rules and laws are absolutely right, yet absolutely wrong.  Its like communism or socialism, what a great idea until you put it into practice then it just ruins so many lives and entire countries.
I get so tired seeing people, good people, actually defend these types of draconian safety measures which if you examine them beyond their surface you find corruption at every turn.  People don't realize that corporations in the medical industry will lobby and monetarily support politicians and other entities who help get requirements like this passed as a law or as rule.  For the corporation, they are just serving their own interests, invest millions lining the right pockets, make billions on doctor visits and equipment costs.

The true cost of operating our country in this manner is too great!

• As the attached articles states, the recommendations made are geared towards profits for the Sleep Apnea industry and ignore many of the real safety concerns.  That fact alone raises a red flag to me saying someone is getting a lot of money to make these suggestions which will boost profits without any regard to respecting an individuals rights or privacy.  
• It needs to be said at least once, No Job, No Government Agency should EVER require anyone to do what is being asked. It is wrong, even if its for the right reasons.  Being forced to submit to expensive doctor visits, sleep labs, equipment costs and collecting data on your sleep patterns is appallingly invasive to personal privacy.  I don't care how many lives someone says it might save.  I'd honestly rather take my chances on the road with possible sleepy truck drivers, than for all of us to suffer the alternative.  The only way to ensure no truck driver is ever too sleepy or too fatigued to drive is for the government and their work too exercise 100% control over them and control every single aspect of their lives, forcing people to wear CPAPs and collecting data puts us one step closer to a police state.   
• Accepting practices like this as commonplace opens up so many avenues of backhanded descrimination of individuals for jobs.  Employers will be much less likely to higher people considered to be even a moderate to lower risk of having certain medical conditions for insurance concerns alone.  Age discrimination also comes into play as everyone tends to develop some kind of condition eventually.  You start out requiring more stringent rules for drivers with diabetes and sleep apnea, but where does it end?  It doesn't.  More and more conditions will be added, pretty soon you have people not going to the doctor for treatment, or visiting other countries when feasible for fear of having an undesirable medical history that might disqualify them for a job.  

The Medical Industry's Sleep Apnea money racket.  
What really irks me about sleep apnea is just how common it really is and thats scary because the medical industry has put out high equipment and doctor's visit costs for something that requires little intelligent care after the fact.  I basically diagnosed myself with sleep apnea, I read about it, I knew I had it, but without a doctor's prescription, you're not allowed to purchase a machine...and thus the nearly criminal process of supporting the medical industry begins...

• General Practitioner referral to a pulmonary doctor 
• GP Office Visit $120
• Doctor asks you some blatantly obvious questions, a burger king employee could've successfully completely the doctor's tasks at this point, he refers you to a pulmonary (lung) doctor.  
• Pulmonary Doctor Visit 
• Office Visit $120 
• Doctor Schedules a sleep study for you.  Generally, they see you twice once before the sleep study and then again afterwards to go over the results with you.  I actually never met my doctor, he was too busy with his "real" patients so I saw his Nurse Practitioner.  
• Sleep Study
• Spend the night in a sleep lab $2000-$3000
• If you have good medical coverage, doctors love to schedule this things for you at least every 3-5 years just to make sure everything is going ok.  Which when you think about it is fairly unnecessary since you know whether or not you're getting a good night's rest.  There are somehow exceptions, so why not pay a team of technicians to monitor you for a night and pay someone's wages for a month.  
• Pulmonary Doctor Visit 
• Office Visit 
• The technicians at the sleep lab know exactly what is wrong with your sleeping, if anything, however don't expect them to tell you  unless you make it clear you're only asking informally and you verbally absolve them of any possible litigation should they tell you something in error. Otherwise, you have to wait to find out on your next visit to the lung doctor.  From here, he'll supply you with a list of medical supply companies which offer cpap equipment.  Again, if you want any intelligent input as to which company might be better, or what most people like to use, you must first absolve whoever you're speaking with of any possible litigation and emphasize that you are temporarily suspending the office visit and that you're only asking his/her informal opinion on which they service provider they prefer so as not to make them liable to possible prosecution for showing a preference towards any one particular company.  Its worth all that though, if you can get an honest answer from them since they obviously hear comments from patients all the time and they know who gives really good service and doesn't try and gouge every cent they can.  
• Medical Supply Company
• Consultation and equipment demonstration.  
• Equipment Costs, CPAP unit $2000-$4000 and up and initial supplies.  Usually even if you've got great health insurance you'll still end up paying several hundred dollars up front and pay monthly until at least half the cost of the unit is paid for.  
• Medical Supply Company On-Going Parts and Supplies.  
• Ongoing Costs Masks $200-$500, plus another $100-$150 for hoses, filters, distilled water tanks, etc for other semi-disposable parts that must be replaced every 3-12 months for proper maintenance.  

Now I will grant you that all the parts, the motor and the materials used are top notch quality, but this is just like a much more elaborate inflated-expense business model that what you find with computer printers for example.  Buy the printer for $30, then spend $50 on the ink every time you need a refil when it all actually costs the company much less.  I really shake my head every time I see something like this, I understand the economical need for price structures to support professionals in various industries, but in this case, the corruption involved is completely ridiculous.  By requiring a doctor's order to use this equipment it forces a monopoly process which inflates the actual cost of treating sleep apnea I would estimate nearly ten-fold. $600 Vs. $6000.  

Down with feminism, someone's place is in the home.

A woman's place is in the home.  The man should bring home the bacon, a woman looks best when barefoot and pregnant.  Ideas like those were around forty plus years ago and with a little help from some feminist women things became a lot more equal.  Now I'm not writing this article to split hairs and examine just how equal we actually are, I'm here to talk about the great big downside to the feminist movement and why it's time to put it to bed and begin the "humanist movement".

Women left home and got their rights and joined the workplace in full force.  And that, made everything go to hell.  Men used to command salaries which could support the entire family.  With women joining the workforce and possibly doubling the number of qualified applicants over a short period of time, wages went down and when you combine that with the other issues such as immigration and illegals hopping the fence from Mexico, you have both parents in the family working, sometimes each having more than one job and still not making ends meet easily.  

Thats not the only downside of women finally gaining equal rights.  Family and society has suffered in so many ways because there's no longer anyone home full-time making a home ...A HOME.  Children no longer have as strong of an ethical and moral base because the person who's supposed to be there guiding them into adulthood is busy finishing that report that's due in the morning or both parents are just too tired after a long day and so the family needs to go eat out at KFC instead of a home cooked meal.  

No one to decorate and enhance the home

No one to prepare healthy meals on a regular basis

No one to host dinner parties and social affairs so that people spend more time together instead of in front of a computer or Xbox. 

No one to focus on the needs of their children full time. 

No one to take full time interest in improving the neighborhood and community in which they live and making it a better place.  

I could probably go on and make a list with more than a hundred items but I think the point is made, the quality of life of everyone has suffered and the quality of human beings our children are raised to become has suffered tremendously.  Creating a happy, well adjusted society full of people is a full-time job, one that simply cannot be micro-managed and multi-tasked.  All thanks to women departing from their 1950's values and joining the workplace.  

If we're ever going to heal as a people and as a society, we need focus more on family and friends.  We need to get people back out of the workplace and back home to make life better for everyone.  We should examine some of our societal habits and decide as individuals if they are really best for us, or if we're doing it because of some preconceived notion.  Do we really need to leave home at age 18?  Do grandparents or an aunt or uncle need to live apart or have their own residence?  When possible couldn't extended family live together not only to save money, but to live together in a place that offers a true home for everyone.  

Which is really better, if when possible, should a 21 year old, that 21 year old's middle aged parents, and one set of grandparents all live apart or would it be better if everyone pooled their income for a very modest sized house where everyone had ample space for their own living, yet still under the same roof so you had a much stronger support system?  Which would you rather have?  A one bedroom apartment by yourself or a spacious bedroom in a large 6 bedroom house?  I wonder if those who would pick being alone is a result of the society we live in?  Do we really want to live completely alone like that or would we be happier if we could live together so long as the others gave us the space and respect we all need to live our own lives?  

With all thats happened in the last thirty years, from the 1980s until now I think we really need to make the transition from feminism to humanism.  With sleep and work encompassing 2/3rds of our lives, I believe we need to start in the workplace to affect real change in healing our society and becoming the Americans we really want to be.  

The first thing we need to change is our education system.  You should graduate high school with a general study bachelors or associates degree.  It used to be that you could graduate high school and make an decent living without college.  Today you can't.  The state needs to support education for every individual until they have marketable job skills.  Now I'm talking about a complete radical change in education as well know it, do it feasible.  Accelerate classes so that you actually finish high school around 15 or 16 then extended high school by two years and everyone completes general college classes from 16-20, where you still attend a "college college" for the specialties that colleges offer.  

Next is the workplace, many couples who marry have similar levels of education and experience, job sharing could be an answer for some couples.  Working from home.   Establishing manor regulations that give tax breaks for families that cohabitate under the same roof.  In some jobs, providing living quarters for familys on the job site.  There are a lot of practical and common sense alternatives which we could provide that would help restore one person in the home at all times.  Individuals could chose who would be the homemaker or alternate that position if they prefered.  Laws could be made protecting a home, preserving it for the eldest child or who they appoint so that when a home is built, they are built as castles to stand the test of time and be there for generations.  

Glossary of Politically Correct Terminology

Here are a few terms coined in our new politically correct age and what I believe they really mean:
I'll be adding to this list as I feel it necessary...



Excuse Me Please:  
Fuck you maggot, get out of my way.


Online Piracy:  RIAA, MPAA, MP3s, downloading music and movies.  
A term coined by the RIAA and MPAA to make downloading movies and mp3s off the internet sound much more criminal than it actually is.  The RIAA an MPAA complains they are losing billions yearly to piracy, when they are actually not losing a dime.  They, just like the oil industry and gas powered cars, are attempting to control the innovation of their industry because they fear it might cost them money.  Capitalism at its finest was meant to promote free and open trade, not stifle scientific advances because industries have setup finely honed systems to make steady incomes for themselves.  (ex. Buying a printer for $30 bucks so they can then sell you a color and black ink cartridge for $50)  We all know the truth, when you download that copy of Right Said Fred's "I'm too sexy" and dance to it while you're getting ready for work, you're not robbing anyone because no one in their right mind would buy that 20 year old song anyways.  Billions of people are too poor to afford a decent music collection at $15-$20 per album, they wouldn't have bought it anyways.  If the RIAA and MPAA truly get their way, they'll stifle their own market with less exposure to their artists creative work while trying to keep their money machine intact.  Meanwhile, poor youtube can't be the great video repository we'd all like it to be and every "Joe" who makes a derivative video fumbles to reiterate something that sounds like legal jargon about copyright laws underneath their video clip of something cool they saw on TV last week.

Wal-Mart, watch for falling prices, price drop. (Slave Wages)
Guess what we found an even poorer asian country than the one we're currently working out of who'll make products for hundreds of times less than it would cost to pay an american worker to do the same job.  Remember kids, the owners of wal-mart build their own apocalyptic bomb shelter to hide in, they are ready for it all to go to hell so they don't care if that toy you bought your child was made by paying someone 10 cents an hour working 14 hour days 7 days a week.

Zero Tolerance:  Zero Tolerance Drug Policy, Zero Tolerance Hazing.  
Rather than spend the time, money or effort it would take to do right by you, we are instituting a zero tolerance policy to throw you out if you do something that might make us look bad or cost us more money. Your just not worth the trouble you cause to us.  Get out.

When blood is blood, how do you appraise the value of a soul?

I was sitting around early in the morning one day, smoking a cigarete, thinking about national healthcare issues.  *wink*

So the thought came to me, you have a bum on the street and a rich, wealthy corporate executive.  Both need a heart transplant, all else equal, you have one heart and can save only one and in doing this, you will definitely extend the life of that person by thirty years...

Who do you save?

The executive is 55 years now and will live to be 85. 

The bum is 25 and will die at age 55 with complications to his second heart.
Note:  for the sake of this hypothetical, the need for the heart has nothing to do with lifestyle, both had genetic heart defects from birth.  

Who do you save?  

If the hospital doing the surgery saves the executive, he will not only pay for his surgery in full, but will have an epiphany after his surgery and donate enough money for the hospital to add a new wing to the medical center. 

If they give the bum the heart, since the bum has no money and no insurance, the hospital will have to absorb the entire cost of the surgery, it will take the hospital one year to recover the costs incurred by the surgery.  

Who do you save? 

The rich, wealthy executive is a good person and has done much for his company, his employees and his country.  He's used his influence, money and power in a positive way.  

The bum, has sat on the street corner and begged money and drank most of their life.  They haven't made a lot of positive contributions to anything?  

Who do you save?  

Finally a look into the future...

The executive has several children already, rather spoiled, but one will continue on with the executive's work and positively affect the world, but in order to do this, they need to be influenced by an event or conversation they'll have with the executive 5 years after the transplant.  

The bum will live out the rest of their life making no contributions to society or anyone, save one, they'll have a child, who after growing up with the parent they have vows never to be like them.  With some hard work they used their company to revolutionize the entire country, thanks to the inspiration from this one person everyone drives alternative energy vehicles, along with several other major changes, it turns the economy around completely and in turn the whole world.  Every industry is changed for the better through science, technology, innovation all with solid moral and ethical choices thanks in great part to a push from this one individual.  

Who do you save?  

Well you can't look into the future when you make decisions like this and that's the problem.  People look at how much money a person has, or their success and look no further.  You can feel confident you're making the right decision based on the information and still be making the wrong choice.  The reason why you'll always make the wrong choice is because it really isn't our choice to make.  We have to remember a soul's value can't be measured, it simply is.  If we measure the value of an individual by how much money they make, their job, their successes, their possessions, then we are disillusioned.  The greatest most successful man on earth  is truly no better or worse than a bum on the street.  We all bleed and we all die, we are the same.  

Paterno deserves better.

I'm not really big on sports, I don't like, play or watch football.  But Penn State, Joe Paterno and Jerry Sandusky has been in the news a lot lately and I'd like to include a little note about it here on my blog.

Joe Paterno was with the Penn State University for 61 years and was head coach for 46 of those years.  The bottom line here, as I just finished an article that he's 85, in the hospital just upgraded to serious condition with lung cancer, and possibly not long for this world, is that he deserves better than to die fired and disgraced from another man's actions.

The old axiom, a team is like a chain and only as strong as it's weakest link, holds true and in this case it isn't Joe Paterno or even Jerry Sandusky, its the people and Penn State U itself, who fired Joe to protect themselves and the Penn State image, in the end, I see no honor or compassion in their actions, just a bunch of weasily rats trying to cover their asses.

From what I've read in all the articles recently, Joe Paterno doesn't deserve to be remembered in this way and he shouldn't be punished for something someone else did.  No one will probably ever really know why it took so many years for Jerry Sandusky to finally be arrested and charged when its so obvious those ten young men accusing him are most probably the tip of the iceburg.  You simply don't have ten people accusing you of the same crime if you're innocent.  But when I read about the career this Joe Paterno guy has had I just cannot reconcile him being remembered as fired for allowing someone to molest boys.  It makes me think they are using Joe Paterno as a scapegoat because he reported what he'd heard to his bosses and then his bosses turned around and fired him for not reporting it to the police.  I think Penn State is hoping in firing Joe, that everyone will forget Joe DID report it, even if he didn't do it properly, and that nothing was done about it by Penn State U.

I just wish someone with some compassion and a sense of fairness would try to look at it from Joe Paterno's perspective.  He grew up in a time where sexual misconduct like Sandusky's wasn't handled publicly by calling the press and the police.  In his time, everyone got together and had a meeting and solved the problem themselves, they either beat the S.O.B. senseless or told everyone very quietly by taking them aside and explaining the situation so everyone would know not to leave children alone with the guy.

Joe also gave his entire life to Penn State an it was a rewarding life for both parties.  He coached and inspired thousands of people, made them want to go to college and win with honor.  He's got statues of him...how many people have statues made honoring them?

Now in the twilight of his life, he's been fired and shunned by the university to serve their own purposes.  I believe the university in tarnishing Joe's career has tarnished themselves far worse and set an example of passing the buck when it comes to blame, the one man above Joe who stood up for him was fired as well.  Penn State is teaching all of its faculty, students and alumni that when you do a wrong, you play hot potato, and never accept the consequences of your actions if you don't have to.


Jerry Sandusky is the one who molested the boys.
Jerry Sandusky is the one who expertly hid this for so many years.
Jerry Sandusky is the one who was so bold as to start a charity for boys, so he could have his "pick of the litter".


Joe Paterno found out about Jerry Sandusky, Joe Paterno relayed this information to his superiors.  People all have their own opinion about the technicalities, but he did the right thing, just not in the right way.  Joe didn't witness anything, he reported what was reported to him and trusted that his superiors would handle the situation in the most appropriate manner.  Well, they didn't.

I think Penn State U should offer to restore Joe Paterno to his position and retire him with the full dignity that he deserves.  Penn State should accept full responsibility for..


I hate saying it in the most politically correct way: 
not properly educating it's staff and coaches on proper procedure for reporting sexual misconduct with a child,


People understand the true nature of it better when you say it nitty gritty, Anti-Politically Correct: 
Penn State, those higher up than Joe found out about Jerry Sandusky in 2002 and did nothing but continued to allow him to bang little boys in the ass for nearly a decade before he was finally caught.

Remember, if Penn State had properly educated everyone, the guy who witnessed Jerry Sandusky abusing the child would have called the police directly that day, Joe Paterno's conduct..or Penn States would never have been an issue.

So unless I missed something Joe Paterno didn't hush ten more years of Jerry Sandusky coaxing boys in perverted acts, Penn State did, Penn State is to blame, not Joe Paterno.

Follow up notes:


After coming back and reading this a short time later, I have a few updates to this.  First off, I wrote this saturday night, within hours of Joe Paterno's death later on Sunday morning.  Since writing this, I've read an article on Joe's death and I've also read the Washington Post article of the last interview given by Joe Paterno.

The most important thing I'd like to note here is that law enforcement authorities, after speaking with Joe Paterno who voluntarily cooperated, they not only didn't charge him with any crimes, they said he did his job and fulfilled the requirements of the law by reporting it to his superiors.  Authorities are going after his superiors with criminal charges.  Yet the university spinelessly fired him anyway, using Joe Paterno as a scapegoat in hopes it would assuage the scandal.

I still believe Penn State owes Joe Paterno posthumous amends and an apology for the weasily, ratty thing they did to him.  I think anyone who reads his last interview would agree with me.  He made $1.08 million at Penn State when the average salary for a head coach is $4 million.  (He turned down an offer greater than that early in his career to stay at Penn State and continued to make just $35,000 back in the 60s).  I believe that alone says a lot about the kind of man Joe Paterno was.  While lung cancer was the clinical reason for his death, it's no coincidence he died just shortly after being disgraced and fired, we all know what really killed him and he didn't deserve that.

I'm just shaking my head at the whole situation honestly people, if Jesus ever came back we really would throw him into "an appropriate mental health facility", and ban crucifixes because they "depict graphic violence and torture".