Whenever I need a couple of laughs, I turn to the bumbling self-aggrandizing antics of the Republican wing of Congress.
However, in the past few months, the Penn State Board of Trustees has done the near-impossible; they have provided more laughs than the menagerie in the Capitol.
To call either the Legislators or the Trustees "clowns" would demean the hard work of the circus performers who spend significant time to develop and execute comedy routines. There is no evidence the Trustees even have a thought process before they make outrageous and just plain silly statements.
The latest Trustee joke is that the reason they really fired Joe Paterno abruptly on Nov. 9, 2011, is because of "a failure of leadership." The Board released what it called a "report," but which is nothing but a press release of rehashed statements. This "report" claims the Trustees fired Paterno after they read the Grand Jury report that outlined a series of allegations against former defensive coordinator Jerry Sandusky, whose name is now known among more Americans than anyone who ever won a Nobel Prize.
Marianne Alexander, one of the trustees, told the media the Board's intention "was to clarify, because everyone's been asking for clarification." This, of course, is the same Board of Trustees that, mouthing the prattling of the ethically-challenged Gov. Tom Corbett, had condemned Paterno for being "morally corrupt," or "not doing enough," or whatever phrase they could quickly find in a Thesaurus of Blame.
Even children barely able to read a newspaper know the basics of the issue. A graduate assistant had seen or heard (it's still not completely clear) Jerry Sandusky, who was no longer employed by Penn State but who used the university fields and showers, possibly molested a child. The assistant told his supervisor, Joe Paterno. The legendary coach whose ethics and morals were never questioned in six decades as a coach and member of the faculty, followed university policy and procedure and told his superiors, one of whom oversaw the university police force. (Sandusky, of course, was later convicted on 45 counts that should keep him in prison for life.)
Some claim that Paterno was "morally wrong" not to "do more" and use his power at Penn State to have Sandusky immediately arrested. These Monday Morning Know-Nothings fail to understand that to "do more" would have been nothing less than interfering with a police investigation.
Corbett, attorney general at the time, could have conducted a thorough investigation, but allowed the latest accusations to simmer for more than two years while he campaigned for the governorship and take more than $200,000 in campaign funds from current and former board members of Sandusky's Second Mile charity.
The Trustees, clueless as most college trustees are, could have learned about the allegations and taken action to protect the university and children. They did not do so. They did not do so even after a Grand Jury was convened and reported about in the local newspaper. They apparently didn't even have a crisis communications plan should anything happen about anything.
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