So, When is the Penn State Anti-Pedophile Rally?

by Cavebat

Upfront disclosure: I love football.

I love college football.

Especially Big 10 college football.

So if it's possible to be even more horrified by the abuse going on at Penn State than that which pours out just by being human, I, along with other Big 10 football fans are that horrified.

We're appalled. Sickened. It's vile. Evil. Disgusting. Who isn't outraged, when facing greedy, selfish, power-hungry, abusing child-haters masquerading as leaders and mentors to young men?

And it's no help to see the students at Penn State rallying against the mandatory, no-choice punishment dealt to Joe Paterno, one of the key players in the scandal. You're football fans? You ought to know the rules. You play the game, you take the hits.

But, I'm a Big 10 fan. And believer. I'm waiting, optimistically, for students at Penn State to remember who they are, who is supporting them at their fantastic school, and who their hearts should be broken for. I'm sure they will show up - to speak with their real voice.

Who are they? Our future. The future that includes no more tolerance for bullying, for brutality, for greed, for abuse of power. The same future that's rallying against greed and abuse of power on Wall Street. Money-grubbing greed, the worship of money over skill and talent and education, are the factors that have allowed more than one state university to be ruled by football profit-machines, losing their way in cover-ups that worried more about avoiding a black eye for an athletic program than honoring what should be their noble mission.

Penn State students will remember that. They'll remember they are our future.

They will also remember they are in school at the will and sufferance and financial support of the taxpayers of Pennsylvania. The "State" in Penn State is, after all, the state of Pennsylvania, the hard-working taxpayers who have more than enough financial challenges without their premier school covering up child abuse. Because that's who will pay for this mess. The state of Pennsylvania will be on the hook for reorganizing governance at Penn State, revamping their athletic programs, in addition to the cost of lawyers and criminal investigations, and money owed to victims.

The students will remember that. They will remember who is paying for their education.

And as sure as autumn brings foliage and pumpkins, and the cold smack of football helmets, and the breathtaking arc of a perfectly thrown pass landing flawlessly in the hands of a receiver just inside the end zone, it will bring some sense to the rallying crowds at Penn State to stand up in support of the children at the tragic center of this horror.

The same unified cacophony of sound that rings for a Nittany Lion victory will be the voice against a reign of terror enabled by criminal co-conspirators: the abuser, the coach, the athletic director, the president, the silent witnesses. Those criminals deserve no sympathy from us or from the students.

We do have a future. They'll remember who they are and speak accordingly.





Dead Enz
Kyle G. Brixton

Pay (Dearly) To Play (Little)

by Dick Mac

Over the past thirty years, since Ronald Reagan's successful campaign against America's poor, those at the bottom of the economic ladder have been held to blame for America's ills and economic woes.

Even as social welfare programs are slashed and the United States struggles to maintain the scantest levels of social safety nets, medical care, and education, billions and billions of dollars are funnelled to the wealthiest Americans to subsidize their elegant, avaricious and power-driven lifestyles.

Today's example is the professional sports team.

The argument the rich make about needing billions of dollars in welfare is that they create jobs.

Let's talk about those jobs. Anecdotally, this is my understanding of the structure of a team and its stadium:

They hire executives who are paid handsomely and receive benefits you and I could only dream about. Many of those executives do not even live in the state from which the team receives its subsidies.

They hire professional talent: athletes, coaches and trainers who are paid remarkable amounts of money and provided amazing extras, and give little, if anything, back to the taxpayers who have subsidized them.

They hire technical staff who are generally private contractors who receive no benefits beyond contracted sums for specific tasks.

They hire a sales force who sell tickets and help season-ticket holders. Most of these are permanent employees with benefits.

They hire operational staff: those who maintain the physical plant like the field, stands, and the rest of the grounds. Although not many in number, these are generally full-time staff who are paid a wage and benefits.

They hire entertainers: cheerleaders and hostesses whose work is seasonal and receive no benefits.

They hire cleaners who are paid poorly, hired seasonally and sporadically. These people work hard and receive no benefits.

They hire concession stand staff who are grossly underpaid, hired seasonally, and receive no benefits. This is the largest pool of people employed by a sports team, and they cannot support a family on the money they earn and lack of benefits, even though they work long, hard hours. Like the cleaners, these jobs are generally second jobs for most of the staff.

The argument made by sports teams that stadiums are good business because they create jobs is a bad argument. Stadiums are notoriously bad employers and even worse neighbors.

The cost to the taxpayer is enormous. Most stadiums are financed in such a way that taxpayers are managing payments for years after a stadium is obsolete or demolished, or the team has moved to greener pastures.

Today's New York Times discusses exactly this today in two articles:

As Stadiums Vanish, Their Debt Lives On

The N.F.L. Plays, the Public Pays

There is only one solution: no taxpayer dollars for stadiums, and no tax breaks for sports teams. We live in a country that can't feed its hungry, clothe its naked, and educate its young. Why are we subsidizing millionaires?