Moral Standards

If you've been living under a rock this week, Joe Paterno is being accused of not doing enough to prevent the horrendous acts of molestation allegedly committed by his assistant, Jerry Sandusky.  Paterno announced he would step down from a 46 year career as head coach of the Penn State Nittany Lions, a decision he said he made so that the Board of Trustees could focus their attentions on "far more important matters."  The Board of trustees shortly thereafter announced their dismissal of Paterno, effective immediately.  

It has not been made clear how much Paterno knew about the actions of Sandusky.  It is clear that he did what he was required of him by bringing the information he had to the attention of his superiors, and putting it in their hands.  Could Paterno have done more?  Most likely.  Was he aware of the severity of the situation?  As yet, we do not know.  Has he been condemned before all of the facts have been brought to light?  Absolutely.

But this is not about Joe Paterno.

This is about the system of persecution used in this country, spearheaded by the media, to condemn anyone who commits any act which is contrary to the perfect standard we expect all public figures to uphold.

A word being thrown around in wake of the Jerry Sandusky child molestation scandal – yes, let us not forget this is a Jerry Sandusky scandal, not a Joe Paterno scandal – is “human.”   I have constantly been reminded that I need to think as a human, not as a Penn State Alum.  As if the two were mutually exclusive.

But in our brandishing of the word, “human”, we are forgetting to allow others to be just that. 

Joe Paterno, a man who has committed a lifetime of good deeds, may be condemned as evil by one misdeed?

Yes, this was a grave mistake, a horrific lapse in judgment, but one that is surrounded by more than half a century of improving people’s lives for the better, and bringing positive change to the world.

Yet one mistake can erase all of that.  A mistake which broke no laws.

Is that the standard we are expected to uphold?

Who among his condemners has never broken a law, actual or moral?

Who has never made a decision he regrets?

Who has never deserved a second chance, or a better chance, based on their deeds as a whole, and not a single instance?

We set up our public figures for failure, and the bigger they are, the bigger we want to see them fail.  Is there no possibility for forgiveness for anything anymore?  Is anything less than perfect now deemed unacceptable?  Who will live up to these standards?

 There is also another issue at stake here.

Paterno got fired for failing what police called a "moral obligation" to alert them to the crimes.  

Let me emphasize, the Police sited a “moral obligation”.

Think what you want about what Paterno did, or didn’t do, the bottom line is that he didn’t commit a crime – yet the police still spoke out against him.  When did they start getting the authority to pass judgment on people outside of the legal ramifications of their actions?  Where does this new found authority find its limits?

Don’t we make laws to decide what constitutes a crime?

Can the police now prosecute people for moral crimes?

Who decides what is a moral crime?

“Well, the radar only got you at 56, but it looked like you were driving a lot faster.”

This is not about whether or not you think Paterno’s actions were wrong.  This is about who gets to decide. 

The police do not get to pass judgment on people if they do not commit a crime. 

The police have already invented enough crimes to find most of us guilty of something.  Isn’t that enough?

We now can be judged on our morals, as well?

Can you live up to that standard?

Vick the Eagle...

Wow. Crazy news. Right in the middle of the excitement of watching the boys on the field for the first time, we get hit with this. And let's be honest, the field excitement was a bit disappointing, aside from Shady, and Eldra Bunkley (who? I don't know, but I like him!).

So there it is. We took Vick. And we were all shocked. Then pissed. How could the fat ass do this? Just when we managed to get through a period without controversy, this happens. Of course this has been a tumultuous start to the season, but what it hasn't been is controversial. Injury plagued and frustrating, sure, but no controversy. McNabb is happy in his new contract, solidified as the Man for at least 2 more years. Sheldon Brown has realized he won't get a new deal, and is playing ball. Even Maclin is finally under contract and on the field. The only issues we've had to worry about (and there have been PLENTY) have been football issues.

Now this. I've gotten over the initial anger a little bit, and can try and look at it rationally. It's not easy. It's easier to imagine D-Mac and Andy in their own little world, not thinking at all about the consequences of their actions. Let's not do that.

Instead, I'm going to look at the positive.

First and Foremost. McNabb. It is now clear that he was behind this decision, and lobbied for it, 100%. That is good. That means there is no controversy with #5, for now. For Now. After McNabb throws his first interception, well, that's a different story. This is Philly.

Ok then, what about Kolb? Is his injury more serious than they're telling us? Or has Reid finally accepted the fact that maybe he's just not that good? I don't know. I do know that I have always been a fan of A.J. Feeley. Sure, he's not a star, but he knows this offense as well as anyone, and in a pinch I have confidence in him. Remember the playoffs a few years back? Remember how he led us to victory, then McNabb got 'healthy' and we switched QBs to allow #5 to lose another Championship Game? Yeah.

So not so worried about Kolb, but I am worried about Vick as our backup QB, because that's where the controversy will arise. Unless, of course, Donovan has a flawless year. That usually happens...

And what about roster spots? If we list him as QB then we can't put him in and out of formations. So who gets the bump? I can't think of a WR I want to get rid of. RB? I could do without Booker, but I think I like Eldra. Do we carry 4 RBs? Hmmmm. We seem a bit thin at tight end! Can he block??

But I said I was looking at the positive. The positive is obvious on the football field. Imagine McNabb, Westbrook and Vick on the field together. Who do you cover? Could we add Shady to the mix? I like that a lot!

So I start to feel better about it when I think of those possibilities. Then I remember he murdered dogs. So I'll try to look at that without getting pissed off again.

Here's the deal: He did his time. I have always tried to believe that once someone does their time and pays the debt that society has prescribed him, he should be a free man. Someone shouldn't be discriminated against for their past of they have served their sentence. That being said, he has to prove himself now, and that won't be easy. I hope there are some serious clauses to his contract. If he sneezes the wrong way, he's out.

Should he be condemned forever for this? No. He, like all of us, deserves a second chance. Here's another thing: I believe in and trust Tony Dungy. Tony Dungy believes in Michael Vick. He has been his mentor since his release. That goes a long way, in my book.

The bottom line? If someone is to take a chance on him, it might as well be us. If he is to become a respected member of the NFL, and a premier player once again, it's either for us or against us. Would you really like to see him on the other side of the field?

We do have a fantastic organization, and the best city in the world. If anyone can handle this, it's Philly. Of course, if this could tear any city apart, it's also Philly.

We'll see. I will trust in the organization. For now.

Michael Jackson

He's dead. Did you hear? Maybe not, there hasn't been a lot of media coverage. Apparently there is some mystery surrounding the events of his death. Pills? Drugs? Captain Hook? Will we ever know?

Here's what we do know: If his children (holy crap he had children?!) were not well adjusted previously, I'm sure mourning their father in front of millions, on stage with Brook Shields, Corey Feldman (or the other? both?) and Bubbles the Monkey will actually be very therapeutic. They probably avoided years and years of potential therapy. Hmm. I wonder if the family even knows a doctor? Poor little Blanket.

Hey, did you know that MJ's dad owns a record label? Yeah, I know because he mentioned it in the first interview he conducted the day after his son died. Seemed appropriate. Well, at least Janet's wardrobe functioned properly at the funeral.

The honest fact we have all ignored, however, is that, whatever the true cause of death was is irrelevant. We killed Michael Jackson. That's right. You and I. We are murderers. Think about it. Could this have ended any other way? Would we have been satisfied if he had a successful comeback tour, free of controversy and boy-touching? If he aged gracefully, with no major court cases and deformed-bone collecting? Don't think so. We needed Michael, our wacked-out court jester, to go out in a media frenzied blaze of glory. We would have it no other way. We might as well have held him down and poured the oxy-xanax-fairy dust down his throat ourselves. We killed him. If he hadn't died the night before his tour, we would have found something, anything, to haunt him with until he reached his inevitable end. Maybe he wouldn't be that good. Maybe his comeback would be all groggy and Brittany-like. Maybe his voice wasn't that good any more. Whatever. We would have found something, then attacked him with it until he reached this inevitable end. It had to end this way, we wouldn't have it any other way.

And now that the deed it done, and we seem to have gotten away with it, is it over? Of course not. It's just beginning. Just like the coroner's report of Anna Nicole, which publically declared she had an 'Unremarkable Anus', we will not stop until we know every littly detail possible about the last moments of Michael's anus. Hell, we already made him endure photographing 'the little Jackson' and talking about it on TV to clear his name of pedophilia. Come on, we all knew that it was a scam to get money out of him, but we went with it. We all knew he's not a pedophile, he's just a little insane.

Now what? Does he get the Elvis treatment? Do we continue to make him the butt of all our jokes, while reconciling it in our own minds by simultaneoulsy declaring his genius?

Sure. I'll visit Neverland. Graceland is pretty boring.

Abortion.

Come on , abortion, stop making us all act like idiots! This one little thing, this one little word, this one little issue has been capable of dividing Americans, even to the point of making us kill one another. Where is the logic in that?

It’s become the number one driving issue in this land, controlling everything that happens in Washington. The reality is that most of us just don’t really give a shit. Yeah, I have an opinion, a pretty strong one at that, but I don’t think it has anything to do with how I perform my job, or act or behave. It’s just my opinion.

So now it’s that wonderful time again when we get to watch the process of picking a new Supreme Court justice. Obama has said he’s looking for someone “with a sharp and independent mind and a record of excellence and integrity.” He went on to say “I view that quality of empathy, of understanding and identifying with peoples' hopes and struggles, as an essential ingredient for arriving at just decisions and outcomes.” Makes sense, right? I mean, empathy, understanding and identifying are good qualities, right? Hold on a second. Not if abortion can help it!

Thanks to abortion, the word empathy is now problematic. How, you may ask, could a quality as universally good as empathy be bad? Well, anti-abortionists (don’t call them pro-lifers. we’ll get to that) think that it’s code. Code for activist. Activist. A proponent or practitioner of activism. Activism. The use of direct action in opposition to or support of a cause. That doesn’t sound so bad, does it? Is it wrong to take action in supporting a cause? Well, I guess it depends on the action. That, however, is not the issue. Coming from a group whose actions include murder in support of their cause, activism should not be a problem. The problem is that activism is actually code for pro-abortion! (not pro-choice. getting there, I promise).

Wait a sec. So, empathy is code for activist, and activist is code for killing babies? Come on, abortion, why do you make us so stupid? Really? Really?!!!!

Let’s forget for a minute about all of the problems in this country. Let’s forget about poverty, disease, crime and corruption. Forget about drugs, homelessness, global warming and the economy. Forget steroids in baseball, censorship, wire tapping, the flu and fraud. Forget about all of this, and you can still think of a hundred issues that rank higher in national importance than abortion. So why is it the first matter we debate in understanding our public service nominees? I don’t care if you’re nominated to clean the bathroom floors in the senate. If a friend of yours went to a pro-choice rally in the 70’s, you’re screwed.

Ok. I’ll get to it now. Pro Choice. Pro Life. I don’t want to choose between these! Of course I’m pro life. Who isn’t? Life is good. Life is what keeps us alive. But choice? What kind of world would this be without choice? Free will is what makes us human. Let’s all just get together now as a nation, on both sides of the issue, and decide that abortion cannot have the words choice and life! These words are far too powerful and invoking to be chained to one issue. It’s like the rainbow. I’m sorry, homosexuals, you can’t have it! I support you and your equality, but you cannot take every color in the world and make it your symbol! I like rainbows! I don’t want to be making a statement if I put a rainbow sticker on my pickup truck (although it would be quite a statement!). The only statement I want to be making is that I like rainbows!

So let’s take back these words, choice and life. Simplify. Don’t sugar coat it. If you truly believe in your cause, don’t be afraid to say what it is. Don’t hide behind false imagery and pretty euphemisms. You are either pro-abortion or anti-abortion. Or you don’t give a shit. That’s another point. Don’t assume we all give a shit. Most of us don’t, remember.

So, abortion, just quit it. We are all sick of you. Before you came along as public issue number one, we could abort all kinds of things. Abort used to evoke images of a mission gone awry. I would love to go out to my garden and abort some weeds. I performed an abortion this morning on my beard.

Quit making us fight. Quit taking otherwise good and decent Americans and turning us into raging lunatics at the mere mention of your name.

Quit dictating the politics in this land. Quit taking the time end energy from our legislators that they so desperately need to be spending on real issues.

Just quit it abortion. Or, I should say, abort.

Et Tu, Obama?

Whooooooooooo! Yeaaaaaaahhhhhh! Allllllrightttttt!!
We're all saved! We're all saved! Obama is president, and everything is going to be alright now! It's all going to be -Whoa - Wait a sec. What's this?

The DOJ did what? The Obama administration DOJ did what?

That's right, they fucked us. George Bush bent us all over, but Obama fucked us. Hell, Georgie boy was even going to lube us up a bit, but not Obama. He just rammed it in there, not caring who saw, or heard us scream.

Not only did the Department of Justice uphold the unconstitutional wreck of laws in the Patriot Act, but they strengthened them!

Yep. Now, not only can they completely invade your every speck of privacy by illegally tapping your phone whenever they please, but now, thanks to Obama, you can't even complain about it anymore!

See, the Patriot Act still allowed you to sue over wrongful wiretaps. That right has just been stripped.

According to the Electronic Frontier Foundation, this new immunity goes further than anything established by Bush.

"Unlike with any other defendant, if you want to sue the federal government for illegal wiretapping you have to first go through an administrative procedure with the agency that did the wiretapping," the Foundation wrote. "That means, essentially, that you have to politely complain to the illegal wiretappers and tip them off to your legal strategy, and then wait for a while as they decide whether to do anything about it before you can sue them in court."

Government Immunity.

Constitutional scholar Glenn Greenwald says, "In other words, beyond even the outrageously broad 'state secrets' privilege invented by the Bush administration and now embraced fully by the Obama administration, the Obama DOJ has now invented a brand new claim of government immunity, one which literally asserts that the U.S. Government is free to intercept all of your communications (calls, emails and the like) and -- even if what they're doing is blatantly illegal and they know it's illegal -- you are barred from suing them unless they 'willfully disclose' to the public what they have learned."

Et tu, Obama?

sim-bob and bee-ba-phone..

and skyballs and saxscrapers.

Words of Beverly Eckert

Published on Friday, December 19, 2003 by the USA Today

My Silence Cannot Be Bought

by Beverly Eckert

I've chosen to go to court rather than accept a payoff from the 9/11 victims compensation fund. Instead, I want to know what went so wrong with our intelligence and security systems that a band of religious fanatics was able to turn four U.S passenger jets into an enemy force, attack our cities and kill 3,000 civilians with terrifying ease. I want to know why two 110-story skyscrapers collapsed in less than two hours and why escape and rescue options were so limited.

I am suing because unlike other investigative avenues, including congressional hearings and the 9/11 commission, my lawsuit requires all testimony be given under oath and fully uses powers to compel evidence.

The victims fund was not created in a spirit of compassion. Rather, it was a tacit acknowledgement by Congress that it tampered with our civil justice system in an unprecedented way. Lawmakers capped the liability of the airlines at the behest of lobbyists who descended on Washington while the Sept. 11 fires still smoldered.

And this liability cap protects not just the airlines, but also World Trade Center builders, safety engineers and other defendants.

The caps on liability have consequences for those who want to sue to shed light on the mistakes of 9/11. It means the playing field is tilted steeply in favor of those who need to be held accountable. With the financial consequences other than insurance proceeds removed, there is no incentive for those whose negligence contributed to the death toll to acknowledge their failings or implement reforms. They can afford to deny culpability and play a waiting game.

By suing, I've forfeited the "$1.8 million average award" for a death claim I could have collected under the fund. Nor do I have any illusions about winning money in my suit. What I do know is I owe it to my husband, whose death I believe could have been avoided, to see that all of those responsible are held accountable. If we don't get answers to what went wrong, there will be a next time. And instead of 3,000 dead, it will be 10,000. What will Congress do then?

So I say to Congress, big business and everyone who conspired to divert attention from government and private-sector failures: My husband's life was priceless, and I will not let his death be meaningless. My silence cannot be bought.

------------------

Beverly was killed in the plane crash in Buffalo last week.