Rest in peace, Joe Paterno...

I’ve not been a follower of Penn State football. I knew of Joe Paterno, and frankly, my thought was that the old guy should quit while he was ahead. Really – coaching football at 85?

Obviously, it was what kept him going.

From the beginning of the Sandusky scandal, I thought it was wrong that they fired Coach Paterno. I think the board of trustees did it to placate the media frenzy, and try to keep them (the media, that is) from creating a portrayal of their university as a “good ol’ boys” administration that looked the other way.  And Joe Pa was collateral damage.

I maintain he didn’t deserve it.

Consider what this man is characterized by: He loved football, but saw it as a tool to further education. He insisted that his players meet high academic standards. As more and more football programs enjoyed the money that success brought, he continued to stick with the plain uniforms, navy jerseys with no names on them…the Nittany Lions were a team, and not flashy.

When the scandal broke, and he was fired, he waved off the supporters (and reporters) hanging around his front door, thanking them for their support through the years, and asking them to pray for the kids who were victims. He didn’t protest his firing. He expressed that he thought he had done enough, but looking back now, he wished he had done more. He expressed his gratefulness for the many years he had at Penn State, and all the blessings that had come from it. His attitude was, “I’m fine…pray for the kids who were hurt.”

That just doesn’t seem like the kind of guy who would be culpable for concealing the kind of activity that was perpetrated by Sandusky. Consider the generation: Can you imagine how your own grandpa might have handled a similar situation? Honorable people of that generation could not acknowledge or articulate such heinous acts. I wish for the sake of the kids who were hurt that he had done more – but so did he. This was borne out in the interview he gave recently, in what turned out to be his last days.

I admire Joe Paterno. I think that even in the scandal that ended his career, he continued to display good character. A terrible thing happened on his watch, and though I think he could have been defended, he chose to take the consequences, focusing on what he had to be thankful for, and showing compassion for those who had been hurt.

I think he will rest in peace.

Oh boy, a State Bank!

There is talk in Olympia of the need for a state bank, or State Bank perhaps is more accurate.

The state would bank and invest its own money, and then they could offer low-interest loans to citizens who have difficulty getting conventional loans.

HELLO? Ever heard of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac? I don't think they had much luck with the same principle...and trust them, they tried it on a very large scale.

Leave it to our liberal legislators to come up with an idea that has tried and failed and call it a new solution...

Sign me,
A Lonely Conservative Living in a Blue State

Pathetic...

Our state suffered the tragic loss of a National Park Ranger in Mt. Rainier National Park on Sunday. A crazed, PTSD suffering former soldier gunned down the ranger when she made an attempt to stop him in the park. She was stopping him because he had already blown through a checkpoint down the road. It turns out that he was fleeing the scene of a shooting in which he had been involved earlier that morning.

After killing Margaret Anderson, he fired on other park rangers who came to the scene, then fled into the snowy woods on foot...

He was found the next day, face down in a creek, dead by drowning and hypothermia.

All this is very tragic...especially for the husband and 2 pre-school daughters of Ranger Anderson. I can't help feeling it is a tragedy as well for the family of the gunman...what a heartache.

What is pathetic is that, even before the gunman was found, there were those who were exclaiming that if the government had passed a proposed ban on handguns in national parks this would not have happened...

I can't think of any way that a handgun ban would have prevented this tragedy...

Would the PTSD suffering soldier think: "I can't hide in the national park because there is a handgun ban there..."

Would he have surrendered his weapon at the check point, or turned around to leave when informed that it was illegal to carry in the park? (Uh -- he BLEW THROUGH the check point as it was...)

Isn't this almost exactly the kind of scenario that opponents of a ban explain would happen NO MATTER WHAT RULES THERE ARE FOR CARRYING GUNS?  It is true that guns don't kill people; people kill people. And when you remove the right to bear arms, you just might be disarming the hero who will come to your aid when someone who is out of their mind pulls a weapon on you...

Really -- my biggest problem with the rationalization that a gun ban would have prevented this tragedy is not that it impinges on my right to bear arms. It's that the reasoning used is so flawed, and so STUPID. Some people are so committed to their agenda that they can't even see when they are being fools...and THAT is pathetic.

I was at the mall today...

...and I can now confirm for you that men should not wear jeggings...just sayin'...

Especially acid wash ones.

The merging of two eras -- the 80's and the Now -- did not enhance either look.

Jeggings...oh! it was painful to witness. Probably almost as painful as it was for the gentleman(I use the term loosely) to wear the tight things. When I looked up to his face, to avoid staring at the bright splashes of acid wash and the snug fit... I saw he had those big holey things in his ear lobes...and immediately I was staring again!

Why, WHY???? What is the attraction of this particular mutilation? I really want to see some of these people when they are pushing 70...If it's not pretty now, what will it look like then? If they just had some patience, they would find out that many things begin to stretch out and sag on their own...No need to help things along...Those ear lobes will likely be a tripping hazard for him one day...

A color-splashed tee completed his ensemble, and I believe he had red Chuck Taylors on as well...The gentleman looked to be about 35 or older...not an Emo Kid. I will say that he was neat and clean...just totally weird looking.

Maybe that's what he was going for...but again, I ask, why?  I just don't understand this current fetish of looking outlandish, with freakish mutilations of stretched ear lobes, and metal studs sticking out of body parts that should be left alone...clothes that are stretched tight, and slung low, and hair sticking straight up, glued in place...

It seems just a little too obvious that you're dying for attention...And you'll take any, even if it is for the wrong reasons. I know some of these people say they are challenging society's efforts to make us all one homogenous, monotonous group...But it seems that all the "free spirits" dress the same weird way. Apparently, there is a uniform for the non-conformists amongst us...

Whatever! It is a free country, and if you want to look ridiculous, go right ahead...but I think there SHOULD be some kind of law against men wearing jeggings...It's just...too...uh...nauseating!