Steve McIntyre writes about what many of us have been thinking about Penn State’s failures at investigating its own, such as the appearance of a whitewash investigation done about Dr. Michael Mann and Climategate. He writes:
On the same day that Nature published yet another editorial repudiating public examination of the conduct of academic institutions, Penn State President Graham Spanier was fired from his $813,000/year job for failing to ensure that a proper investigation was carried out in respect to pedophilia allegations in Penn State’s hugely profitable football program. The story is receiving massive coverage in North America because the iconic Penn State football coach, Joe Paterno, was also fired today.
CA readers are aware of Spanier’s failure to ensure proper investigation of Climategate emails and his untrue puffs about the ineffective Penn State Inquiry Committee, reported at CA here and by the the Penn State Collegian as follows:
…
Spanier was fired not because of any personal role in the Sandusky football scandal, but because of negligence on his part in ensuring that the allegations were properly investigated. This was not the only case in which Spanier failed to ensure proper investigation of misconduct allegations. As noted above, Spanier had falsely reported to the Penn State trustees and the public that the Penn State Inquiry Committee had properly interviewed critics and had examined the Climategate documents and issues “from all sides”.
Full story here
Sometimes Less is More
More Soylent Green said:
“Although there appears to be a pattern here, comparing crimes against children and the cover-up of those crimes is magnitudes worse than anything Mann is alleged to have done.”
You’re right. Comparing crimes against children and the cover up of those crimes is bad . really bad. Too bad that those who cover up are accessories.
It’s true that crimes against children are horrible, and not to be compared to scr**ing the pooch in research and testimony.
The comparison being made is not between the two circumstances – one being a crime the other not – but the chronic failure of the administration to properly handle the two circumstances. They are serially inept.
Why things can be talked about together is because both circumstances occur under the same Top Brass watch.
If you know your employer is going to go to bat for you and dismiss or suppress investigation – as evidenced by the long term official reaction to information about the sex assaults – then I bet one can feel very safe in stonewalling some paltry citizen request for “private emails”.
I guess in defense for Sandusky, one might plead that those were “private moments” and his expectation of the university would be that they be kept private.
It just depends on the skilfulness applied to words and concepts, in order to arrive at a plausibly deniable.statement.
@Franklyn Durilla Road
> But it is spot on!
Did you read “No Whining”‘s original post?
We’re here to talk about science. Criticise Dr Mann’s science as much as you like. Question his honesty, if you feel the need. But senseless slurs with no supporting evidence do much more harm than good. Sure, some of the warmists say horrible things — but we don’t want to be like that.
There are plenty of serious allegations against Dr Mann that we can discuss. Creating silly ones serves no point.
Ben U. says:
November 10, 2011 at 9:51 pm
“The coverup went far and wide. Penn State is now properly referred to as
PerpPed State. Vide Wendy Murphy recently on MSNBC.”Fixed that for ya!
In Mann’s defense I’m quite sure those tree rings he’s constantly fondling are all over 18 years of age.
I’m not sure he obtained their consent though… lol
No, Dave, it’s only not live, it only graphic images of tree ring responses. Some snuff of them at times….
I disagree with the insistence that the two actions should not be compared due to some perceived seriousness of one crime versus another. Victimizing a child in the manner presumed at this point is horrific, anyone can agree with that. However if the actions of one man in altering the scientific truth as has been put forward by the press alters the direction of humanity, and the conclusions shown end up in fact being untrue, is that not a far far worse crime against humanity? In one case, a few people were terribly scarred for life. In another, whole nations may have their economies trashed. Which is the greater evil? Does it even matter?
Scientists are entrusted with being holders of universal truth. If they betray this trust they are essentially lying to humanity and that has tremendous consequences. These men (as we know) colluded to conceal truth from the public, that truth was their own uncertainty in their own conclusions. They continue to this day to work together to conceal their uncertainty in their bold conclusions.
Football might be the glamorous side of a university, but it’s not what supplies a society with its future.
Child abuse is a terrible crime that destroys lives utterly, but a single scandal of it is not the same as coercing an entire species of sentient beings into believing a lie.
IMHO, there is an imbalance in the crimes, Mann’s direct actions were not comparable, but the effects of them were likely far worse than a pedo scandal.
Let’s get it understood that I am thoroughly disgusted with the way in which the Pennsylvania State University (PSU) trustees fired head coach Joe Paterno.
Not the fact that they did it. The expression is “sh-t scraping,” and it’s entirely too common a practice to be worthy of comment. But the way they carried out the termination – sending a messenger after the close of business hours with a memo directing him to call the Board and then telling him “You’re fired!” over the telephone instead of even doing the deed in a face-to-face meeting conducted in the light of day….
Gawd. For that alone, every member of the Board of Trustees should immediately and uncategorically resign. Probably enter some equivalent of the Witness Protection Program.
The proper way to “sh-t scrape” Joe Paterno off their institutional shoes – if that were really needful – was to bring him in the next day and ask him to resign immediately and without notice “or else we’re going to fire you and call campus security to walk you out of your office.”
Joe Paterno almost certainly would’ve seen the sense in retiring “voluntarily, for the good of the University” (all indications are that he’s going to continue conducting himself in public and in private with that priority in mind), and though it would certainly have proven an unpopular decision on the part of the Board of Trustees, the “sh-t scraping” wouldn’t have kindled the enraged riots that swept through the campus and the town that night.
On the other hand, flensing President Graham Spanier was nothing more than that malfeasantly irresponsible and massively overpaid Empty Suit has deserved for more than a decade.
Forget the “golden parachute” bit. Hand him an anvil and drop him into the deepest water you can find in Centre County. Then tell the student body about that decision.
No riots. Just a big crowd of kids gathered along the shoreline to watch the bubbles coming up.
Peter Miller says:
November 11, 2011 at 6:04 am
For all those wishing to empty out the contents of their stomachs please read this in regards to Mann etc.
http://profmandia.wordpress.com/2011/09/09/donation/
—————————————————
mann:emails
nixon:tapes
grave:shovel
mann:coverup
tip:iceberg
Mann and the defenders are fond of saying that he has been cleared by 7 separate investigations. This is not true. There has been only one investigation of Mann’s conduct in the Climategate affair — that conducted by Penn State. Now, because of this horrendous pedophilia incident, Penn State will forevermore be known as Cover-up U. So Mann’s principle argument is no longer available to him.
Scarface says:
November 11, 2011 at 1:25 am
“What if it is REALLY worse than we thought; that in the emails they don’t want to publish there is some sort of reference to this sick crime, maybe only that there are rumours about it…”
But we could never know that, because only Michael Mann can interpret words that may or may not be found within his emails, whether the words be sent or received.
They covered up the goings-on in Sandusky’s locker room — high time to raise the veil shrouding Mann’s computer as well.
I’d certainly think that the exposed culture of ‘image first’ at Penn State University warrants another look into the Mann investigation. Consider that even after the firing, the GA that walked in on the situation while it was occurring and walked away, McQueary, continues to work for the University as the wide receiver’s coach. I read through the disgusting account of events in the grand jury report, and this individual walked in on the situation and, as stated in the report, both individuals saw him. I cannot begin to imagine how disheartening it was to that boy when McQueary just left. If Paterno was worthy of firing for not doing more, McQueary definitely was worthy of termination for the same reason. This University, it seems, cannot be trusted to police its own at all and the continued employment of McQueary is a sad testimony to their incompetence.
University of Pennsylvania, Class of ’76 says:
November 11, 2011 at 4:04 am
Chuck Nolan, this happened at PENN STATE, not UNIV OF PENNSYLVANIA!
__________________________
It does not matter BOTH universities will get tarred with the same brush as will, to a lesser extend, other universities.
“….the brazen and open cover-up by the University of Virginia in spite of the best efforts of Ken Cuccinelli,…” makes it pretty darn obvious that Ivory Towers think they are above the law and can do as they please. This is not going to go over well with the tax payers footing the bill for all the grant money.
The accumulating DIRT starting with Climategate is tarnishing universities reputation as it should.
Gail Combs says:
November 11, 2011 at 4:59 am
“The Democrats and Republicans scratch each others backs behind the scenes. Dems vs Reps is just a Dog & Pony show for the Great Unwashed. The real divide is the wealthy elite vs us peasants.”
Us? Do you have a mouse in your pocket?
Have you joined the #occupy movement yet? You’d fit right in. Few of “us” want anything to do with them.
“Do you really think “Socialism” or “Progressivism” could have taken over our schools and media without the benediction of the wealthy who OWN the media and FUND our Universities and politicians????”
Newsflash: Rich people send their kids to private schools. Evangelist Christians homeschool. Catholics have religious schools. The school boards of public schools, the teachers, the principles, the superintendents, are all from the peasant class. You dear, hire these people. I suggest you get off your duff and see about firing them if you don’t like the job they are doing.
“The biggest cover-up applies to the idea that the Corporate and Banking CEOs are in favor of Capitalism and opposed to Socialism. The truth is exactly the opposite. Socialism promotes government control over everything and that is a very good business strategy for those who control the government laws and bureaucracies – the banking & Corporate CEOs. What we are actually seeing is not “Socialism” but “Neo-Corporatism” using the mask of “Socialism” to tighten control without the “Useful Idiots” wising up to who is actually pulling their strings (and funding their pet NGOs).”
Are you serious? What’s the banking industry like in Russia?
“If the Republicans swept Clinton’s getting campaign funds from China under the rug when China was considered an “Enemy” of the USA then Mann’s minor indiscretions will be buried too.”
People who live in glass houses shouldn’t throw stones. Most politicians are at least bright enough to know that. Few of them don’t have any unsavory campaign donors they’d rather not disclose.
@Combs
You need to qualify who owns the media. It’s true it’s owned and controlled by the wealthy but it’s wealthy liberals for the most part. Wealthy conservatives own the military industrial complex. I’m not sure which has the greater influence.
At 7:45 AM on 11 November, Jeremy had written:
In reverse order, there’s no “coercing” anybody “into believing a lie.” The unjustified and unjustifiable coercion involved in the anthropogenic global warming (AGW) fraud is instantiated in the actions undertaken by government officers under the presumption (in almost every case with the knowledge that the AGW premise is wholly false) that such aggressive violation of individual human rights is justified by this “We’re All Gonna Die!” flim-flam.
The government thugs know that the AGW notion is a hideous lie. They have been (and continue) perpetrating criminal theft and destruction of value by fraud, and should not only be investigated, indicted, convicted, and incarcerated for their crimes but also subjected to civil lawsuits for the recovery of compensatory and punitive damages.
These “public servants” (I prefer Mencken’s term for them, “malevolent jobholders“) have a duty to preserve the lives, the liberties, and the property of the private citizen. Their dereliction of that duty is the definition of malpractice, and having undertaken that violation of the private individual’s rights is malfeasance.
Unleash the tort lawyers!
Now on to the first line in that quoted section. “Child abuse is a terrible crime that destroys lives utterly….”
This is the old “spiritual equivalent of murder” batpuckey, and utterly contemptible.
Those of us with education, training, and experience in the management of patients with histories of childhood physical, emotional, and sexual abuse know that this “destroys lives utterly” crap is not only false but unspeakably, hideously, and irresponsibly invidious. Do you understand that, Jeremy? Pushing that “spiritual murder” garbage of yours actually has an adverse effect on the lives of real human beings who have sustained such abuse. They internalize that idiocy, and it contributes mightily to their failures of recovery.
There have been millions of people throughout recorded history who have experienced “Child abuse,” and the overwhelming majority of them have gone on to live lives of both subjective and indisputably objective value. Those who have taken the time to study the subject (not to mention the clinical fund of knowledge pertinent thereunto) have a sound appreciation of how and why this is so, and treat hysterical idiocy like Jeremy‘s with the hatred it richly deserves.
In the play 1776, the authors have the character portraying Rhode Island delegate Stephen Hopkins uttering the following line:
I’m very much in favor of discussing even the touchiest subjects openly and without fear.
But in the case of this “Child abuse is a terrible crime that destroys lives utterly…” hatefulness, the effects of the meme are so pernicious that a concern for public health (if nothing else) gives me to call upon Jeremy and his ilk to put a goddam cork in it.
LazyTeenager says:
November 11, 2011 at 4:52 am
http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canadian_defamation_law
________________________________
The laws in the USA are different. No one is calling Mann a pedophile but we already have proof he is dishonest, (Climategate e-mails and Hockey Stick graph) and we already have proof that Penn State ignored FOIAs and did a whitewash. This despite the wiliness of the University of Virginia to fork over the e-mails of another prof. if Greenpeace was willing to pay.
This cover-up by the SAME person should leave a reasonable person with at least some suspicion that another cover-up to protect another cash cow may have gone down.
At this point if the University wants to save face they need to look at ALL the back records with a microscope and come clean. Otherwise they need every bit of mud flung at them to STICK!
As somebody commented at John Scalzi’s site, Paterno passed up the chance to coordinate with the Board of Trustees or to simply resign gracefully. Paterno had indeed refused Penn State’s request back in 2004 that he retire; instead, he got his way. He didn’t leave the Board much choice but to fire him ASAP once he continued the now-disastrous impression that Penn State’s football heads make their own rules, by his publicly announcing that he was hanging on till season’s end and said “At this moment the Board of Trustees should not spend a single minute discussing my status. They have far more important matters to address.“. Although I wouldn’t assume that he was given no further chance to cooperate in a more graceful exit, at this point it doesn’t make much difference.
I heartily disagree with any kind of comparison between the climategate coverup and this exceptionally tragic coverup. No comparison. One is an opinion based coverup of stupidity and inept science among adults. The other is a criminal coverup of massive emotional damage to young children. There are few posts I find to be extremely inappropriate and entirely devoid of proper forethought. This is one of them. It is similar to the despicable use of the term “denier” applied to skeptics. Let us not make that same mistake here. I cannot imagine the pain these children and parents are feeling right now. I can only hope they are not subjected to this post.
[SNIP: Paul, he wasn;t asked, he wasn’t involved and this is innuendo. Stick to the thread topic. -REP] Could be confusing! What a mess! Penn State is in major trouble, both criminal and civil.
LazyTeenager says:
November 11, 2011 at 4:34 am
http://climaterealists.com/index.php?id=8614
“* Two 2009 requests of the very same University of Virginia for records and emails of academic scientists, one of whom was ultimately forced out as state climatologist by a non-scientist politician who did not share his views on climate science.
* A request of the University of Delaware for the records and emails of an academic scientist, also subsequently ushered out as state climatologist.
* Requests of the University of Alabama-Huntsville for the records and emails of two academic scientists.
* Requests of Harvard-Smithsonian for the records and emails of two academic scientists. In turning over requested emails Harvard-Smithsonian acknowledged that, while not actually covered by FOIA, it wanted to comply with the spirit of the act.
Smelling salts, anyone? Further shocking, the subjects of each of the above requests were climate “skeptics.” First, they came for the emails of the climate skeptics; not liking the climate skeptics, I said nothing…”
And suddenly the University is spending $$$ not to comply? How do you call this LT?
Spanier de crabes…