What is it with Penn Staters?

When Michelle and I were on the NYTO trip, we saw several cars with Penn State stickers on them.  I saw a couple of people with Penn State shirts.  This morning I saw a car with a huge "We are Penn State" bumper sticker on it.

Why do would they continue to cheer for this school in such an over the top manner, especially after the administration clearly covered up crimes against children?

If these Sandusky crimes had happened at Heinz Field and the Steelers had covered it up, everything I owned that said "Pittsburgh Steelers" would have been in the garbage.

Are they that blindly devoted?

Am I missing something?

Maybe they don't want to abandon their school in its darkest moment.  Maybe they would argue it is not fair to take it out on the players or team that had nothing to do with Sandusky.  They may also say that Penn State is making amends.

Maybe but it does not feel like it.

Back into battle!

The new school year starts tomorrow!

I have my master's degree but in order to take the next step towards the PhD, I need some "formal" training in both Latin and Ancient Greek.

Latin is pretty easy, especially if you have any experience in Spanish or Italian.  Ancient Greek is not too bad if you have a lifetime of experience in the modern language.  The words are different but the language is still constructed and built the same way.

Just when you thought it was over, it never ends! LOL

Freedom from Fear

 Yes, this is a hate crime.  A political extremist deceides he does not like what someone says and he tries to silence them through violence.  Naturally, because he is a far left wing nut (not that the idiots on the far right are any better...), you do not hear much talk from the media about this being a hate crime.

Still stupid, still unacceptable, and still deserving of a jump off the back of a plane without a parachute.

The link to the story is here for your consideration




http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/lookout/family-research-council-shooting-hate-crime-210123530.html

Syria in the news

Maybe it is a late entry in the Arab Spring chapter of Middle East history or it might be a spasm that leads to nothing but getting a lot of people killed but Syria's recent troubles are starting to draw attention from the world's leading powers.

No one seems interested in intervention unlike the case with Libya last year so that is at least one good development.  A billion dollars and several months of uncoordinated air attacks resulted in the replacement of Khaddafi with what appears to be the North African version of the Taliban.  NATO and the US appear to want to avoid running down that road again.

Plus there is no oil.

Syria is essentially the property of the Assad family and they have dealt with revolts before though not for a while (1970) and Israel has been an active enemy for all factions to unite against.  The Israelis are staying quiet this time and there is a big battle brewing in Aleppo.  That might be the turning point in what many are correctly calling a civil war.

Russia and the US have been at loggerheads again and this crisis has them on opposite sides.  Russia is sending arms and perhaps money to Bashir Assad while the US is providing moral support to the rebels while attempting to ascertain who they are exactly.

At least it is an improvement over last year's badly thought out Libyan adventure.

It is hard to say definitively what will happen if the Assad dynasty falls but Middle Eastern history seems to indicate an answer of "not much."

If Libya is any guide, some other conservative government will take power and it will certainly be anti-Israeli.  They will probably use the Israelis as a scapegoat to unite the country but I don't think they will try to take back the Golan Heights...at least not immediately.  In other words, it will be hard to tell the difference between the current Syrian goverment and any replacement.  Assad may even offer amnesty and include the rebels in the government.

As is often the case in the Middle East, any change is usually an instance of "meet the new boss, same as the old boss."

Chicken Sandwiches

There were a lot of people at Chik-FilA

Actually, there was a horde of people at every Chik-FilA....

The CEO of the unabashedly Christian company did not make "anti-gay" comments.  When pressed for an opinion, he stated he simply did not not support the position of gay marriage and reiterated that his franchise did not discriminate.

For some reason, the mayor of Boston Thomas Menino felt compelled to shoot his mouth off about not allowing the chicken franchise to come to Boston.  With such an anti-business climate, why would Chik-FilA want to?  Taxachusettes  has a way of chasing out business with taxes and enough regulations to choke a horse.  Then Rahm Emmanuel declared that Chik-FilA did not have "Chicago Values".  This from a guy who has the foulest mouth the White House ever saw?  The the mayor of San Francisco bluntly warned that "the nearest Chick-FilA is forty miles from here.  I strongly recommend that they come no closer."

Get over yourselves....

Everyone of these cities is bankrupt--morally and financially.  They could use anyone brave (or stupid) enough to invest there.  And what business is it of any elected official to check anyone against some ideological checklist?

The people voted with their feet and flooded Chik FilAs everywhere.  It was not a statement against gay marriage.  I don't care what two loving people do in their own home.  It was a statement against incompetent and corrupt power-hungry, self-serving Nazi wannabes trying to run other people's lives while their cities sink in chaos.  You can try distract people all you like but the problems are in front of them and are going to go away.

As a friend of mine said, "Just for a second I almost forgot the crippling unemployment and $16 trillion debt."

Go eat a chicken sandwich and enjoy the day.

And get some exercise!