The SY$TEM is About the Money (more than it is about the Kids)

» Rad note - today's entry orginated as an update to (& reflection upon) a previous entry that I posted last month, titled » Geeks vs the Government | Game On [dated 15 May 2012].

I cut-n-pasted the following text that you find posted here because it was starting to get long enough to be its own entry and because the subject was so different.

So when I say 'this' .. I might really mean 'that'. =) Plus, I have since added to it. Here goes nothing:

Baloo & Mowgli | Jungle Book»»» In reflecting upon the surprising amount of VIGOR that found its way into my previous entry ..

.. it occurred to me that » I have needed to defend myself .. against false (unjust) accusations.

In court. Many times. For years. [ An eternity. ]

The waaay I did this was by » responding IN WRITING. [ Merely trying to figure out what legal FORM to use .. is surprisingly difficult & time-consuming. ]

As the years went on, the SIZE of these written responses grew.

I have submitted, for example, more than one 20+ page response .. along with contacting (.. out of desperation) my Congressman & Senator & the press.

In other words » I have plenty of EXPERIENCE writing these types of documents ..

.. where I make my case by pointing out bullshit (injustice). I'm talking about things for which I care very deeply. Things for which the motivation comes easily.

Responding to that kind of shit will hone your skillz in a hurry. I'm talking about shit that tries to separate you from your son. Your focus becomes remarkably clear.

Against a SYSTEM in which you have no legal representation .. cuz you have no more money .. at a time when our nation is experiencing the greatest Economic Crisis since the Great Depression.

Yet you are up against both .. both money and the legal representation it buys .. which includes tricks-of-the-trade. [ Tricks-of-the-trade are still tricks. ] So you need to make .. Every. Sentence. Count.

Cuz sentences are all you have.

Sadly enough, the truth plays less of a role than I would've imagined. Your sentences therefore need to convey your own special flavor of outrage. You need to make yourself clear. Crystal. The stakes are so high.

Land squarely with both feet in the game and go for broke. Win or die trying .. cuz no other option exists.

Distance Brings Pattern-Recognition Perspective

From the distance of one lunar cycle, I am able to make out some of the same David-vs-Goliath similarities between those legal documents (.. that I submitted to the court) and this document (.. that I submit to you).

In other words, I have experience (.. much more unfortunately, than anybody would ever want) .. first-hand experience .. up close (tho not very personal) ..

.. dealing with the SYSTEM .. which seems to care about little more [.. and yes, I know this sounds mind-blowingly unbelievable, but hear me out ] .. than the money.

<ignore this intentional body-text marker>

••• today's entry continues here below •••

Consider this » when an accusation is made, a lot of people go to work .. at a time when the economy is struggling and many people (too many) struggle to put food on the table.

The Ballad of Bob DylanThese people respond whether or not the accusation is valid .. because they are PAID to respond.

It is never a good thing to find yourself in a situation where people have a job because of your misfortune (.. unjust or otherwise).

Meanwhile, these paychecks continue to put food on the table .. as the economy continues to sputter .. despite years of unprecedented government intervention.

Now, if all these accusations return findings of official investigations as "unfounded" ..

.. how many of them should be assumed valid ..

.. before we reach the point where the "Cry Wolf" syndrome has been safely established?

Go ahead. Take a guess. How many until you feel confident the accusaions should no longer be considered valid? It's a valid question, no?

[ Myself I feel we should be extremely generous here.

But go ahead, anyway, and pick a number. I dare you. I double-dog dare you. Cuz I know how wrong you will be. =) ]

The folks who conduct these investigations (.. highly trained and competent professionals who no doubt take their jobs seriously) have 3 possible outcomes (called 'findings') for the the results of their investigations:

  1. Founded (» obviously guilty)
  2. Unfounded (» obvious bullshit)
  3. Inconclusive (» we cant tell)

I am talking about findings of #2 » Unfounded (» obvious bullshit).

[ I should interject here and give props/kudos where due .. and tell you that, of all the investigators I've dealt with (.. and there have been many, unfortunately) .. detectives are THE BEST .. by far.

I don't know so much about police, because I dont have much experience with them, except as initial responders [ "Go ahead and take a seat on the curb, sir. Can I look thru your wallet for your ID?" ]

But full-blown detectives (.. I have experience with detectives from 3 different cities .. as it depends where the "crime" was supposedly committed) .. detectives can smell bullshit a mile away.

I mean, you can actually feel them crawling over your every response. They watch you closely. (Yes, I watch them watching me.) They analyze your verbal, and especially non-verbal tells, in detail ..

Go to Jail - Monopoly.. in greater detail than I understand myself, yet can certainly intuit .. like they have a 6th sense.

Like you are literally under a microscope. And if you are guilty, you're fucked.

But if you're innocent, consider yourself a fortunate man if your case is assigned to a detective. (No, not you, Jerry.)

It's actually a cool feeling to have a trained professional ply their trade on you .. sorta like getting a massage from a skilled, intuitive masseuse.

I'm like » "Bust out the lie-detector, sister. Strap me in. Wire me up. Let's do this thing and do it right. Bring in your boys. I'll go wherever you want me to go. Do I look scared? I think not."

Cuz you neednt be a Crime Story buff to see the seriousness of the allegations. And the whole time, your primary consderation is the effect these things might be having on your son.

I also hear that the CAST team has its shit together, but I've never dealt with them directly. (I was not invited, and did not even hear of the investigations(s) until the detectives, who were present at all of them, informed me of them after the fact.)

The thing that always clinches it for these investigators .. is when they interview the Bug, "He obviously loves you very much," they tell me, "and he especially likes when you jump on the trampoline with him." ]

Now it is possible that you may come up with a range of numbers. But .. I would contend .. as a man who possesses ~ 7 years worth of hard-won first-hand experience here (.. you cannot imagine) .. exploring every nasty crevice of the SYSTEM's paternal sausage grinder ..

.. that seems to want from me and care about ONE THING thing and one thing only (.. the one thing I don't have any more of).

Van Gogh's Starry Night over the RhoneHere's my point (.. I apologize for getting side-tracked there) .. is that .. whatever NUMBER you come up with ..

.. it should never reach the point where it becomes "unfortunate" ..

.. especially if these things are having a 'stressful' effect on the child.

[ And IF .. you need to hire a lawyer and spend many thousands of dollars to defend yourself against repeated false accusations ..

.. which are designed with the sole intent to separate you from your son and your son from you ..

.. and you literally go broke trying to defend yourself and your son's relationship with his father ..

.. selling your car and max'ing out all your credit cards in the process (.. yes, every last one) .. THEN shouldnt the Court award you some kind of re$titution?

[ My life would have been very different .. if I had just walked away from my son .. as so many other dads have done, after having succumbed to the relentless pressure.

Yes, I have talked with them. Yes, they feel like shit. It is about survival. ]

Why pray tell, then, might they be inclined NOT to? I could TELL you why .. but it would not be pretty.

Yet I will be in court again .. soon. Very soon.

If your son is separated by a Restraining Order from seeing his dad .. for 3 weeks at a time .. for a accumulated total of 12 weeks (3 freaking months!) ..

.. while the system conducts their investigation (.. yet again & again) into whether or not these horrible and seemingly endless accusations are valid ..

.. why then does the court refuse to grant even 1 day of make-up visitation? (If not for the dad, then for the child.)

When Kafka novels start to make sense, you know you've entered the Twighlight Zone. ]

Has anybody ever gone back and done a study to see what kind of effects these things have on children later in life? Does anybody even care? (.. about anything more than the money?) Doesnt seem so.

Let me tell you, dawg .. I'm not seeing it. No, sir. And I been "up in here" 7 years now. [ Think of all the man-hours the SYSTEM has inve$ted in me. ]

Lest I be remiss .. I should note .. that the message the SYSTEM is sending to me (.. you know, that "It's about the money, stupid." ) .. uh, it is not vague, nor difficult to understand. No, sir. Very clear. Crystal.

I get it. Loud-n-clear. Anyone with barely a modicum of discernment could plainly see. Nor is the message very complicated. So .. give the SYSTEM credit .. for communicating its message clearly. Kudos.

Results of My Own Research

Anyway, I have talked to some of these kids, who have grown up in the midst of a messy custody battle .. where kids are sometimes used as a tool .. as a weapon .. and are now fully grown adults ..

Jail Cell.. and when I find adults who have experience growing up in such an environment, I ASK a lot of questions .. pointed questions ..

.. and they tell me that it seems like, from their perspective .. that all that the SYSTEM cares about is » the money ..

.. rather than their own welfare (.. that of the kids) .. or the welfare of their dads (.. who they very obviously love and empathize with .. and perhaps even identify with).

Now, sad as it might seem, I also know dads .. who have grown weary of the YEARS of harassment .. and simply given up. They reached the end of their rope. "Go ahead," they said. "Take them" (referring to the kids).

"I'm not there yet," I told them.

These adults, who grew up in such familes, tell me that the SYSTEM seems to looking out (first & foremost) for » the SYSTEM. In other words » for it's OWN interests. Because the SYSTEM runs on money [ .. which is why it's primarily ABOUT the money ]..

.. and this just so happens to be, coincidentally or not, one of the things that seems to be wrong (and getting worse) with our country. No?

Now I know it may seem like a hasty generalizaton .. with insufficient data points .. an insufficient sample ..

.. but do your own research and I'm confident your findings will mirror my own .. and that's » All SYSTEMs share certain similarities.

Is it true .. that States receive MONEY from the Federal government .. in proportion to the amount of money they are able to extract from dads? Do they also take a cut of the monies they collect?

Do you see how this could create a bias? .. that could be to the detriment of both father & child? I mean, wouldnt that give them a motivation to extract MORE?

Because many of the ideas that you read about here are things I got while talking to adults .. who grew up as kids-wishing-they-could-have-spent-more-time-with-their-dads .. and that their dads could have had kept more than two nickels to rub together.

Such is the priority the SY$TEM places on money .. that they will (read » have) order you to pay more than you earn, and if you do not ..

Go directly to jal; Do not pass Go. Do Not Collect $200.. they will take away you ability to take your child to church (.. by taking away your weekend visitation) ..

.. and by taking away your driver's license. [ I havent had a driver's license for over 3 years now. Like THAT's supposed to help me find a better job. ]

Don't you consider the fact that not having a driver's license will make it more dificult for a dad to see his son? Or do you just not care about that?

And if you are limited to a bicycle, that means your SON is also limited to a bicycle (.. to get anywhere). 

And it can be a chore to keep the bumpers off him .. as you navigate your way thru streets (. uh, where cars drive).

Like I said, it's another manifestation of the system's » "Prioritie$."

How are you supposed to pick up your son if you have no drivers license? You can't even borrow a friend's car.

Are they TRYING to make it difficult for your son to spend time with his dad? .. or do they just not care about that? It certainly seems that they care about one thing and one thing only.

Déjà Vu All Over Again

So déjà vu on me. Feels like I have been here before. Similarities abound. And the stakes still seem high. Cuz it's obvious that more than money is at stake. Much more.

My beef however, is not with any one man or person. Not any more. My beef is much bigger now .. having grown considerably. =)

And I am only coming to understand this recently. My beef is not even with entire systems of bureaucracy, big and small. Tho I am certainly no fan of bureaucracy, I know how to play that game and play it well. As many, I'm sure would be glad to tell you.

My beef is actually (now) .. with the value-set imposed upon the people. And to be honest, I am surprised (at myself) that I have this 'perspective'.

Here's the deal .. it's not the individual. It's the value-$et imposed upon the individual .. by the SY$TEM (.. I'm trying hard here not to sound like George Orwell) ..

.. but the kicker is .. that the system was once noble and honorable. And FAIR.

But somehow .. over a few decades .. our once honorable value-$et has .. been corrupted.

Now, I dont think so .. but it could be as simple as this >>> the people who are 'drawn' to Politics are THE SAME KIND .. as those drawn to money (Wall $treet). This algorithm would work.

Because of this "similarity of value$" they naturally get along well together. "Hey, come on over to the man$ion tomorrow. I'll throw some steaks on the bar-b. Bring the kids. I got this thing I wanna talk to you about."

Americans assume this type of shit goes on .. because we know you guys are only human.

But this 'humanity' becomes a problem when (.. try to read my mind) when your ENVIRONMENT forces you to adapt .. by "modifying" your value-$et (.. it feels like an adaptation) .. in a nearly imperceptible way .. that over time constitues glaring and obvious corruption.

Mohandas Gandhi (1869-1948)Now the people waving the $100-bills are the ones corrupting your environment .. cuz it seems like you're having trouble figuring that out ..

.. but you guys have rolled out the red carpet for them .. and even gone so far as to look to them as your savior. Bad move, dude. Bad move.

Especially cuz your are too big of a pussy to make the hard decisions that you obviously need to make. Hang up on the Lobbyist and make the right decision .. that you KNOW needs making.

And like you (.. cuz we all have a fairly-decent idea of how ugly Wa$hington can be) we also are feelings the effects of this corruption .. because YOUR VALUES TRICKLE DOWN to us.

And like a good Kafka novel .. we have problems but no answers .. questions with no solutions. Cuz no matter WHO gets elected .. we still have the same CORRUPT problem. The same corrupt SY$TEM. This much seems obvious.

So that's why it would seem that YOU GUYS would be the best ones to fix it. (I'm talking about your kneeling posture toward the man with $$$ hanging out of his pocket.) Cuz if this is as good as it gets, then the infection can only grow worse.

From here it feel like you are saying we have two options: adapt/accept your value-Set .. or suffer the consequences. Because that is the message I am receiving .. loud and clear. Consistently.

The problem is .. your value-$et suks. (For most everybody 'cept you and yours.) And I might not even have noticed .. were it not for the fact .. that it is affecting my son's life, and his relationship with his dad. So you can see how that might bend me bad.

Americans havent lost their way, but they are being governed by a SY$TEM that has. And that's why the citizenry are having to deny the obvious .. that our once-noble government has lost its way.

Close Positive

I should add however, in an attempt to close on a positive note .. that I would not be the same dad without this struggle. No, sir.

Sometimes you dont realize how precious something is .. until you're faced with the threat of losing it.

Pooh & Piglet Looking for ButterfliesI mean, I think I would still have been a good dad .. people told me they always knew I'd make a good dad.

But there's really no way to know for sure. And I know I wouldnt have been AS GOOD a dad .. without the struggle. That much is easy to cede.

But I am definitely (now) more .. focused with my attention .. more deliberate with my affection .. more conscious during our time together .. certainly more loving. And it's not like I have to try very hard. (Tho it is definitely hard work.)

In court, they said I was an "attentive" father. Attentive .. that's putting it mildly. They also said, "the child is remarkably comfortable with the father."

Remarkably comfortable .. I would concur. I may not have many possessions .. but I do have a good relationship with my son, who knows that his dad loves him (.. as he will gladly tell you). Unconditionally.

I probably neednt mention that it can be difficult .. to be kind and loving and caring and compassionate .. when a hungry gator in gnawing on your ass.

Not a cakewalk by any means. You need a special ability in order to focus on what's important .. and ignore the rest. "Hmmm, What's that munching sound?"

Guilt & Paternal Restitution

Dads who know what I'm talking about (.. and there are many) .. desire to be GOOD dads ..

.. because they feel horribly guilty .. for not being there more. (Even tho they can't, legally).

Frustration becomes a frequent companion .. as they get their asses kicked .. on a regular basis.

So they try to make up .. for the absense. For not being there more. To make paternal restitution .. if such a thing be possible. Regardless the cost. Or the toll it might take. But they try. (Because he is worth it.)

The guilt itself is difficult to discuss (.. notice the convenient narrative shift to the more distant third-person 'they') .. yes, very difficult ..

.. most of the time, anyway.

It is unfortunate .. that sometimes you are left with no option .. than to appeal to a higher authority. Or enter the jaws of hell alone, with nothing but a slingshot, or a web log.

Baloo & Mowgli | Jungle BookIf I were king, I would design the system such that children could never be affected adversely as a result of bad lawyering or prejudice.

People say I am crazy .. for even thinking such a thing possible. Maybe so .. maybe so. =)

Cuz from my (years of) experience and my perspective, it seems as if there is no penalty for making as many false claims/reports as you want.

The only thing that gets the SY$TEM up in arms .. is when you run out of money. And mere money should never trump the interests of the child. You hear me.

I hope Jerry hears me, too. Cuz "that is some low-down shit, Jerry."

You will excuse me if I holler at poor Jerry. But you could not fathom how badly it frosts my ass .. that people like him, who do genuinely horrible & detestable things to innocent boys (many of them) .. and get away with it .. for decades ..

.. for one rea$on » he's a big part of the SY$TEM. And the priorities of the SYSTEM do not include kids. Because the SYSTEM is not about kids.

[ Surely you dont think Jerry is the only one. ]

It really comes down to priorities, and the priorities of the SYSTEM suk. Every christian knows what Jesus said about such priorities. (And I'm confident he didnt stutter.)

It may seem obvious to you .. but it actually came as something of a revelation to me .. that the reason the SY$TEM is about the money .. is because » the people who RUN THE SY$TEM .. are about the money.

And they are willing to overlook an awful lot of shit and turn a blind eye toward even the most hideous shortcomings .. long as you can help them boost their bottom line and/or further their agenda (.. which does not place much importance on kids). Think about it.

What kind of people would want to be part of a pedophile-protecting SY$TEM like that?

Do your own research, but I'm confident your findings will mirror my own .. that people who are about the money .. are about the money FOR A REASON.

And part of that reason (certainly for some) is the camouflage that money/wealth buys/confers upon (from the SY$TEM) in the form of prestige and respectability ..

.. because you know that if Jerry didnt have the prestige and admiration of Penn State football and the PSU community ... he never would've been able to abuse young boys repeatedly, for decades. His ass would've been in jail a long time ago.

"Camouflage for what?" you ask?

That's the question. And here's where I rest my case. ■

Jerry Sandusky» Update - Jerry Sandusky Verdict!

PS - This just in » the verdict! What a coincidence!

Guilty on 45 of 48 counts (.. guilty on 94% of the charges).

June 22nd, 2012 » Jerry Sanduski day. A victory for kids.

Notice how he went after poor kids from fatherless families. There's a le$$on there.

I want to send a shout-out of Rad support to all the brave victims who came forward and testified. That must be an incredibly difficult thing. I can't imagine. But I *do* know that .. if more people had your courage, the world would be a better place.

Jerry Sandusky made it into my 'Reflections' entry .. dated 29 January 2012 .. where I made it clear how I felt.

Notice how his rationale seemed to be » "Because I give you nice things (that you can't afford) and because I buy you nice things (that you can't afford) .. [ notice how he set up a charitable organization called the Second Mile, which ostensibly benefits young boys (.. but not young girls). ]

.. this gives/earns/buys me the right, the privilege, to have my wAy with you .. however I like, regardless of whatever bad/horrible/lasting effects this might have on you ..

.. even tho it'll probably fuck up your head for the rest of your life."

If you research it, you will find that many men currently in prison are there because of people just like Jerry. They had mind-blowingly horrible things done to them .. things which freaked them out so badly .. that they had trouble fitting in with normal society.

Ya think? How can anybody ever be 'normal' after something like that? Wouldnt you be freaked out of your mind, too? (You wouldnt wanna know the answer to that question. I assure you.)

So they're in jail. Rotting outside the same way they've long been rotting inside. Thanks to Jerry. Or whatever their name happens to be.

Mohandas Gandhi (1869-1948)And all the while (till recent) the SYSTEM heaps much re$pect upon Jerry. "How's the house, Jerry?"

In other words, the inequality is not just economic or legal. It's much more insidious than that.

How could he continue to molest/sexually abuse/violate so many young boys for so many years? .. for decades ..

.. after red flags were repeatedly raised more than a decade ago? Whose fault is that? (You know my position.)

My point is that Jerry Sandusky is not really about Jerry Sandusky. He is merely a symptom, a result, a product.

Because the SYSTEM blinds people to the Jerry Sanduskys of the world .. by focusing their attention el$ewhere .. on other 'things' ..

.. on the cloak of respectability that money buys. An illusion.

Nothing wrong with money, per se. It's only when it's deified .. that it becomes a problem.

When its worshiped, idolized, reverenced. When it becomes more important than kids and their future .. than your own soul.

All of which the SY$TEM does .. and has no qualms about telling you, either .. and would probably even tell you for free .. if that didnt violate one of its most $acred tenets.

And the SY$TEM seems to have taken over. Bow the knee and render payment due. "Or we'll foreclo$e on your ass."

Does not the term "Capitalism" itself imply that money (capital) is elevated and given a place of preeminence in a capitalistic society (.. in which we live)?

Obviously, some give it a higher place of importance than others. This is one of the reasons I've always felt comfortable around Geeks .. cuz they are not about the money. (Which is why you can rent them, but not buy them.)

[ Notice I have not used the word 'bureaucracy'. Because, while SY$TEMs do indeed employ bureaucracies, not all bureaucracies are "about the money."

At a very early age, I can remember being told that "lawyers & doctors make a lot of money" ..

Sara Ganim, Penn State.. usually after being asked, "What do you want to BE when you grow up?" .. as if that is something a 5-year old would or should or could possibly know.

The undisguised implication there is that 'being,' or your very existence, is inextricably related to and predicated upon your ability to make/earn money ..

.. a message communicated repeatedly very early. You know what I'm talking about. So complete is the indoctrination that those values become a part of you.

A less obvious derivative » those who earn no money do not exist (.. or maybe they just shouldnt) ..

.. almost as tho the Capitalist system itself was worshipped with money. Think about it. ]

I lived in Pennsylvania for 6 years. Lancaster. The heart of Amish country. Good people. I knew they'd come thru when presented the facts ..

.. such as the sounds of "rhythmic slapping," coming from the Penn State shower late at night ..

.. where a boy aged "anywhere from 8 to 12" had his hands pressed up against the wall (.. while Jerry went to town behind him).

"Jerry. Jerry. Jerry. What are we to do with you? And people like you?"

[ Being sexually-attracted to young boys .. must be a living hell. How does a man like that justify his actions? ]

You neednt be a rocket scientist to know .. that when a guy bearing "gift$" comes over to the house ..

.. and the boy runs and HIDES behind the bathroom door and whispers, "Mom, tell him I'm not home." .. that is a sign of a problem ..

.. cuz all boys love gifts .. unless they come with a hidden cost.

Being gay is one thing; preying on poor, defenseless, fatherless boys is another.

My intuition tells me that Dylan was right: it's a Hard Rain that's gonna fall .. and that King was also right .. that it wont be long. Not now. And that many will get wet.

I hope I'm wrong. But you can't stay in denial forever.

What nobody can deny however (.. nobody except Jerry & his wife, that is) .. is that Sara Ganim is the real hero of this story. Kudos, girl. ■■

Louis Freeh delivers his report to Penn State UniversityThe Louis Freeh Penn State Report

The Louis Freeh report. Wow. Impressive. Two hundred sixty-seven pages.

Last time I saw something like that was at a Bonnie & Clyde movie. He's obviously the man to call if you want some legs broken.

That was refreshing. Sans bullshit. A nudge of the national moral compass in the right direction .. for once. Kudos, sir.

[ I was also impressed by the no-bullshit questions Bob Costas asked during his interview with Jerry. Very. ]

Seeing Louis is the former director of the FBI, I would assume he has his investigative shit together.

Joe Paterno? Wow. Joe Paterno was known to bench his star quarterback for a bowl game if he was caught farting on the field.

This tells me .. that if something like this can happen to Joe Paterno and Penn State (.. probably one of the universities that appeared MOST SQUEEKY CLEAN) .. it can happen anywhere.

I mean, Penn State would be one of the LAST colleges you'd expect to find something like this. Right? Is there a lesson there? About appearences maybe? And deceptiveness. And priorities. 

They must really wanna win football games very badly .. seemingly at all costs. ■■■

Jerry SanduskyUpdate July 15, 2012

After reflecting a few days on what Louis Freeh said and wrote ..

.. I am left with the conviction that » Jerry is a sick fuck.

And that he obviously can't help himself ..

.. because he really is a Sick Fuck .. in the clinical sense of the term.

But the REST OF those guys .. members of Penn State admin .. they were enablers. All of them.

Not merely look-the-other-way enablers, no. We're talking active enablers. » "Quick! Hide-the-ugly-evidence" types.

The problem here .. is that .. they are the ones who we/society are counting on .. to save boys (.. from sick fucks like Jerry).

Cuz, let's face it, we're always gonna have sick fucks like Jerry around. And they FAILED. Joe fucking Paterno failed.

"Failed open," is how a nuclear plant operator might characterize that type of failure. [ Complete, utter failure. ]

I would like to ask him .. "What-the-fuck were you thinking, Joe?" What were they ALL thinking? Clearly not about the boys' welfare.

I would also like to ask them .. to what extent did money [spelled M.O.N.E.Y] play a role in the decisions they made?

Because I bet their answer would fall somewhere between "High," and "Very high." And naturally, this would lend credibility to the thesis / theme of today's entry .. that the VALUES of this money-first-and-foremost SY$TEM precipitate this type of behavior.

Joe Paterno (1926-2012) Former head coach Penn State footballIn other words » the SY$TEM itself is rotten.

I am very much interested in their process of justification .. the rationalization that went on in their minds.

Seems impossible they could ever justify something like that in their mind .. yet they obviously did.

Cuz my suspicion is » the brighter the light you shine .. the uglier it will look .. something like,

"Fuck those poor kids. They should know better than to take candy from a guy with holes in his pockets. I'm too busy protecting this here pile of money to be worried about piddly-ass shit like that."

The highest levels of Penn State admin (both Football and Executive) are responsible for what happened to those kids, perhaps legally, but most definitely morally.

[ And no, the students should not suffer as a result of what the administration did. The students did nothing wrong. Why is it that the innocent so often suffer for the guilty? Punish the guilty, not the innocent.]

I want to tell/ask them: "Jerry is a sick fuck. What's your excuse?"

Regarding my own plight, professionals (the more intuitive ones, anyway) have suggested that there must be an "explanation" why my accuser has continued to make false accusations ..

.. despite repeated findings to the contrary by these highly-trained professionals .. trained to investigate such accusations ..

.. that "something" must be telling my accuser (repeatedly) and has them CONVINCED, perhaps even CERTAIN ..

.. that a seemingly loving dad is capable of the most horrific acts one can imagine .. against their own child, against their own flesh & blood. Only wish I knew what that something was.

Societal value$ & the Effects they are haVing on our Kids

I will close today with a snippet of a review from a newly published book that discusses the effects that our societal VALUE$ are having on our children. So this final section might be the most important part of today's entry.

I like this particular book because it is written by someone who is NOT just a theorist, but rather a lady who actually gets her hands dirty with real kids. Every day. (For the past 30 years.)

Ben Franklin on the One hundred dollar bill - aka MONEYIt is titled » Teach Your Children Well, subtitled: Parenting for Authentic Success. Part of the NY Times snippet reads:

Levine [Madeline] works with teenagers who are depleted, angry and sad as they compete for admission to a handful of big-name colleges ..

.. and with parents who can't steady or guide them, so lost are they in the pursuit of goals that have drained their lives of pleasure, contentment and connection.

"Our current version of success is a failure," she writes. It's a damning, and altogether accurate, clinical diagnosis.

Levine's previous book, "The Price of Privilege: How Parental Pressure and Material Advantage Are Creating a Generation of Disconnected and Unhappy Kids," opened with the image of a "bright, personable, highly pressured" 15-year-old girl with wealthy parents, who seemed, on the surface, to have it all.

But a glimpse at her forearm revealed that she had also carved the word "empty" into her flesh with a razor. Teenagers like this, and adoring if preoccupied adults like her parents, haunt the pages of "Teach Your Children Well."

"You go, Mad."

Think about it. The subject is » values. The cultural values imposed on society by our Leaders .. and the effects they are having on our Children.

The word 'Authentic' in the book's subtitle implies that there is a fake or inauthentic form of success. ■■■■

Jerry Sandusky get 30-to-60 yearsJerry Sentenced » 30-to-60 Years

UPDATE - Oct 10, 2012 » Jerry was sentenced yesterday. 30-to-60 years. At 67, he dies in prison.

Might feel like justice, but it's a sad substitute. For the kids, I mean. Because they cannot forget.

The thing to remember about Jerry .. is NOT how many years he was sentenced to (.. he won't last very long) ..

.. but rather » HOW MANY YEARS he was allowed to continue .. ruining the life of boy after boy. After boy. A veritable mobius strip of boys.

And why he was allowed to continue .. for decades.

Why he was allowed .. and WHO it was that allowed him to continue. Why they swept the dirty evidence under the carpet .. and kept sweeping. Year after year after year.

Who and why. Those are things to keep-in-mind when remembering Jerry. But especially » why.

Les Miserables | CosetteBen Franklin Trumps Boys

It's not Ben's SY$TEM, but he's the face on their poster.

If you are familiar with the power-of-denial, then you probably werent surprised by Jerry's response in court. And I'm sure he really believes his innocence.

I mean, think of how distorted one's thinking and sense-of-self must become .. in order to justify sex with boys. Young boys. Enjoying it.

With no regard how badly it might fuck up their heads .. for the rest of their miserable lives.

Because .. if *that* crumbles (his distorted sense of self) HE crumbles.

Because then he has nothing left. Certainly nothing left that any society would consider worthy of anything but the most vile contempt, scorn, derision.

And he is clearly crumbling.

Perhaps Jerry deserves our pity .. being sexually attracted to young boys. What kind of psycho twisted mind-fuck THAT must be? I dunno.

But what I *do* know .. is that there are others .. who clearly don't. Who do not deserve our pity.

As the Dog has been known to say, "Fuck them."

I'm kinda surprised Jerry didnt use that as his defense » "Hey .. nobody stopped me from fucking them boys .. so I figured everything was cool."

"I mean, they all knew about it. My bosses. Their bosses. Read the report."

"If they didnt LET me, I would've stopped. So why you picking on me?"

I'm also glad to see that the Boy Scouts are getting onboard with the plan.

Cuz it's a hard rain that's gonna fall. Hard. But not because of the Jerrys of the world.

The world of High-Finance-on-a-GIobal-Scale .. is bound to attract a few Jerry Greeduskys.

But our representatives in Washington should not be enablers for them .. much less rolling out the red carpet. Cuz that shit aint right.

In other words, these Greeduskys can't help themselves. That is the nature of the beast. (Enough is never enough, nor will it ever be. Ever.) These Greeduskys have never claimed to have anything more than financial self-interest at heart. (Give them points for honesty.)

That's why we [ the American people ] need YOU to do your jobs .. and look out for OUR interests. If this is something you can't do, then you should go home. Thank-you for your service.

And you who remain to enable the Greeduskys who flock to Washington » shame the fuck on you. To whom much is given ...

» All About the Money

The very first paragraph of one of the most acclaimed novels of all time (pub 1879-1880) .. contains the following excerpt »

"Fyodor Karamazov was not only worthless and depraved, but muddleheaded as well--one of those muddleheaded people who still manage to handle their own business deals quite skillfully. At his death he was found to have as much as a hundred thousand roubles in hard cash. At the same time he remained all his life one of the most muddleheaded madcaps in our district. Again I say it was not stupidity--as most of these madcaps are rather clever and shrewd--but precisely muddleheadedness, even a special national form of it."

Sound like anybody you know?

Dude, does that not sound like he was » all about the money? Fyodor, by the way, is the father of the Brothers (Karamazov).

That's right, the very first paragraph .. and it only gets better from there.

In the second chapter, he trick-fucks the eldest son out of his inheritance, and is pleased with himself for doing so. His own son. His own flesh-n-blood.

In other words, he is » not about the kids. No, not hardly.

United States CapitolWrap with a Question

Permit me one parting comment. A question I pose.

If the SY$TEM is set up in such a way that OUR politicians need money in order to get elected .. then, SHOULDNT WE modify the design (amend) ..

.. in order to eliminate the corrupting influence .. that obviously favors the rich .. at the expen$e of every one else?

Seems like a fair question, no? I mean, who could possibly not be in favor of such a ethical stance toward OUR elections? 

And what if they will not? Or CAN not? What if they do not possess the moral strength? What then? What would our Founding Fathers recommend?

Circle closed. Done. Big-ass circle. Bada bing!

If I were to name this series .. which goes back at least to New Years .. and probably to 11-11-11 (.. and maybe even to Jail) .. I would probably choose » The Indictment. Subtitled » How the Values of our SY$TEM were Co-opted and Corrupted.

Tho I suspect the voice will have more to say.

"Ye shall know them by their fruit." ■■■■■

» Update April, 2013

Following the slaughter of a score of First Graders at Sandy Hook Elementary in Newtown, Connecticut, our government could not even pass modest gun control legislation ..

.. to try to keep military-style guns and weapons out of the hands of known-wackos.

Does this not serve to emphasize and reinforce my point? (.. that the SY$TEM is about the money.)

The System | The Glory & Scandal of Big-Time College Football» Update #2 - The System October, 2013

Speaking of the SY$TEM being about the money .. you gotta see this » League of Denial.

As tho my point about the SY$TEM needed an underscore.

Notice what Dr. Omalu says (at t=56:15) in the feature » "You can't go against the NFL. They'll squash you."

Dude, do you not find it somewhat coincidental .. that this new (vigorou$ly fought) bomb shell (from the NFL) also involves football? (.. like Jerry)

» Growing Up with an All-American

I grew up across the street from a first-string All-American wide receiver (.. who kicked my ass for many years, but who was too small to play pro) ..

.. so I know a little something about football.

[ I have good hands myself, very good, even .. but his were made of glue. And he was fast. Very fast.

Everywhere he went, he broke pass-receiving records. Shattered them. Everywhere.

If you total his receptions with those of his two younger brothers, I bet you would have the aggregate pass-receiving record (both high school and collegiate) for any three brothers anywhere in the nation.

Because all three of them broke records.

Matter of fact, my All-American neighborhood buddy is » this kid here (in my strange coincidence).

The neighborhood was fortunate to have him. Lance livened everything up .. in a good way.

His mom took him every summer to sports camps, where they taught him the finer aspects of football and baseball and basketball.

This obviously paid off because all three brothers received full-boat scholarships.

Lance indeed taught me many little tricks about the art of pass-receiving ..

.. but only after he first used them to kick my ass. ]

Do you see more connections between the two incidents? (.. than just football?)

Regarding the newly-released, similarly-titled national best-seller .. my ego is convinced, saying » "Dude, they *totally* named the title of their book as a homage to this entry." [ Healthy ego, no? =) ]

Both these stories, one from college football and one from pro football .. remind me of Ball Four by Jim Bouton.

The White House Boys | Dozier School for Boys, Marianna, FloridaSeismic. Can you feel it? Let's see what Joe thinks.

» The White House Boys

I can see that a fitting conclusion to this entry .. can be found at the » Dozier School for Boys ..

.. where even SY$TEMs that *should* be about kids .. are sadly not.

Why no arrests? Go ahead .. take a guess. I dare you.

Fucking sadists .. with boys, no less.

Notice how these people were viewed prominently in their community.

Land of the free? Home of the brave? ■■■■■■

UPDATE - October 31, 2013. On a related note, I just realized today that the death of Georgia high school teen Kendrick Johnson ALSO came on January 11 .. same day as the Aaron Swartz entry. Big story.

The Feds and the FBI are gonna look. Very interesting, especially when you play the info off of other developments.

» Secrets of the Vatican

UPDATE February 25, 2014 - Speaking of the system being more about the money than the kids .. you gotta see this » Secrets of the Vatican ..

Pope John Paul II Embraces Marcial Maciel at t=13:13.. particularly the statement that comes at t=14:45.

Wow. I was raised Catholic and I have never seen anything like this. I watched it twice in a row ..

.. cuz I could not believe what I was seeing (and hearing).

Video posted » here. If you reside outside the U.S. you might have to go thru a US-based proxy server ..

.. and enable JavaScript, which proxies usually disable by default. Look for check-marks that say "Disable scripting" or something like that and remove the check.). I dunno.

The quote that really blew me away was (at t=14:45) »

» "Why didnt he [ Pope John Paul II ] just banish him [ Marcial Maciel the pedophile ] ? Why? Because the Legionaries of Christ is a large and very wealthy order and puts LOTS of money into the Vatican coffers."

I rest my case.

Or maybe not.

Update May, 2014 - I admit that it is more or less moot at this point .. but here is another article that supports my point that » the system is about the money.

And here is one that illustrates how the system is NOT about the children. About how it only pretends to be about the kids.

See if you concur.

Update - April 1, 2014 » I know you dont believe me, but I am really trying to end this entry. But it just won't quit. See » here, about the VA scandal.

Wish I could say that "April fools!" But this is no joking matter. Because people have died .. while waiting to receive the care they earned and that they deserve.

Shame the fuck on you, VA.

My brother's first wife (a doctor) worked for the VA. And that is all I will say about that.

Update June 8, 2014 » Of all these articles about how the system is really about the money, none resonates more perfectly than this one by Alexes Harris. See here » Yes, America, we have returned to debtor's prison.

For me, this article best captures the essence of my experience.

Let's see what Stephen Colbert has to say about it. Edsall discusses the topic here » The Expanding World of Poverty Capitalism. (I love Edsall. This piece here calls him a "journalism legend." They will get no argument from me.)

Update June 17, 2014 - It may be a different take on my theme, but check out this article for yet another way that the system is » about the money.

Update June 19, 2014 - From a dramatically different perspective, I would ask you to read this article while holding in mind the theme of today's entry .. because it makes for an interesting concept. Unbelievably interesting.

How can you forget .. that your child is in the car? I don't get it. All day in a locked car in Georgia in June .. what the fuck?

That poor little kid .. what that must have been like. To die like that. Breaks my heart.

Update June 23, 2014 » Here is some » new info on the Jerry Sandusky case .. politicians covering their own asses. That's what I would do if I were them.

I will accept their assessment at face value, tho I have my doubts. I still maintain however, the validity of my original thesis » it's the SY$TEM that's fucked up .. the values of the SY$TEM ... the values of the culture that are skewed.

And the INCENTIVES that induce this skewing.

Update July 29, 2014 » Midway thru this article you find this quote »

» "The discretion inherent in executive power is being exercised to maximize financial efficiency. But there is no obvious connection between financial efficiency and the public good."

If you ask me, that quote says that » the system is about the money .. more than it is about the citizens.

■■■■■■■

Rotherham England Child Sexual Abuse of » 1400 Children

Update August 27, 2014 » I would provide you with a little synoposis about this next bombshell revelation .. but you probably would not believe me. So here » read it yourself.

I will say however, after watching the videos posted here at the BBC, that I was impresed by their make-no-excuses response. The Guardian discusses it here.

Update Sept 6, 2014 » Ross Douthat did this very nice thing here, titled » Rape and Rotherham. Ten karma points for you, good sir.

■■■■■■■■

» It's NOT About the Money (by Mark Blyth)

Update Sept 9, 2014 » Check this out » It's NOT about the Money, by Mark Blyth .. professor of International Political Economy at Brown university (est. 1764).

For once, we finally find some people who are NOT all about the money.

He is writing about » why Scotland wants to break away from England. He is a Scot, so I guess he would know.

I have heard that Scots are known for their frugal ways. So his title seems counter-intuitive. 

■■■■■■■■■

Sept 30, 2014 » Here is another enlightening article about how the system IS about the money.

June 21, 2015 » Here is a short article quoting Pope Francis in Turin as telling the young that, in today's world » "Everything is done for money."

For more along these lines, here's a Google search preconfigured for the query » the system is about the money more than it is about kids

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This page contains a single entry by Rad published on June 22, 2012 6:22 AM.

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