The Nittany Turkey

Primarily about Penn State football, this is a tale told by idiots, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing.

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Catch-up Monday

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It’s Heinz Day here at the Turkey and that means we’re making ketchup. I’ve been way behind due to “new and existing avocational commitments”, to paraphrase John Surma.

I started writing a single post about Penn State, the NCAA, Sue Paterno, John Surma, and all of the happenings of the past few days, but the post was becoming humongously long. Rationalizing that the Turkey is better taken in smaller doses, I decided to split it up into logical fragments, which are not exactly for those of short attention spans.

In the meanwhile, I see that no one read my spare ribs & sauerkraut recipe and that deeply offends me.

Okay, already! Just kidding. You didn’t come here for cookery.

On with the fun.

Davy Jones Changes Tune

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While I ordinarily don’t write about other writers, I’m writing this because I find a recent not-so-subtle shift in position by the Patriot-News’ David Jones to potentially be a harbinger of a broad turn of media sentiments against the NCAA. The resulting pressure could benefit Penn State inasmuch as reducing the draconian penalties imposed last summer might be a face-saving move by Mark Emmert as media criticism mounts against the hypocritical NCAA and its Chief Hypocrite.

Jones hit two major points in an opinion piece published in his blog last Friday. First, morality and “the rules” don’t apply to the machinations of the NCAA and its leader. Second, the whole premise of the NCAA, to promote amateur collegiate athletics and protect participants from rampant commercialism is mere tongue-in-cheek hypocrisy. Hell, the major source of NCAA revenue is the annual basketball tournament. If that isn’t using amateur athletes for profit, what the hell is?

What I’m thinking is that the change in tune for Jones is significant because he was one of those who initially agreed that Penn State President Rod Erickson did the right thing by accepting his punishment and going to bed without dessert, but now he sort of kind of said that was probably necessary at the time maybe because the public sentiment demanded it. However, now that the public sentiment (however that is measured) has seemingly turned against the NCAA, Jones is hopping on that bandwagon. I think it is a good thing. One by one, the detractors are coming back into the fold. Jones’ target shifting from Penn State to the NCAA is a major win for the good guys. ESPN is showing signs of cracking, too.

So, with things heading in the right direction, Pennsylvania Governor Tom Corbett’s antitrust suit against the NCAA is a stroke of legal and political genius. Way to go, Corbett! Great timing, dude! I believe that the “public sentiment” turning sour on the NCAA will create a favorable climate for moving forward. What fun this will be.

Want to read Jones’ article? Check out “Mark Emmert comes off as biggest fraud as NCAA investigates itself.”

Combat This!

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Occasionally, I comment on subjects other than Penn State football and this is one of those times. I am impelled to add my two cents to the now apparently moot debate about the military employing the fairer sex to fulfill combat roles. So, let’s beat that dead horse, shall we?

You’re expecting me to decry this latest hunk of egalitarian crap, aren’t you? If so, I won’t disappoint you. However, I’m not going to walk down the emotional suitability road. I’d get crucified for that. I prefer being drawn and quartered for being what the avant-garde feminists of the 1960s and 1970s coined as a male Chauvinist pig.

“Now look here, Little Missy. Listen up and listen tight!”—John Wayne

This change in policy means that massive accommodations will have to be made, much as they are for handicapped people pursuant to the Americans with Disabilities Act. The ADA accommodations merely cost American businesses millions, if not billions of dollars for dubious benefits to a small number of people who could find alternate employment suited to their abilities. (See my lengthy rant in the comments to Friday’s Laser Focus article.) In a similar vein, but much worse in its eventual negative impact, the new policy permitting women to serve in combat can and will cost lives — not just the lives of the valiant women who volunteer for combat duty — and overall, it will compromise military effectiveness.

Now, don’t get me wrong. I respect and admire anyone who is willing to take a bullet for me, regardless of gender. I deeply respect anyone brave enough to volunteer for the front lines, as they are well aware of the potential consequences.  Merely wanting it, though, does not make it a good idea. ????? ??? ???? ????? I’m sure that there are bad-ass women — probably many of them — who could kick my ass up and down the block, and after I publish this they’ll probably come looking for me. Moreover, I believe that in some combat roles, piloting fighter aircraft for example, women are fully the equivalent of men, if not better at the necessary eye-hand coordination. (Look at the number of female pistol and rifle competition champs for an indication of those superior abilities.) In ground combat, though, as opposed to the glamour of air combat, muscles replace machinery, and conditions are harsher than most of us can imagine. This isn’t Survivor: Fiji.

For those who are interested, I was swayed to my present position by two opinion pieces, one in a blog and one an op-ed in the Wall Street Journal. 888 sport Originally, I was buying the arguments in favor of the new policy. After reading these, I am not. I encourage you to read them whether you agree with my assessment or not. Being a lazy guy, I could make some of the points they make here, but I’ll now cede that territory to them.

While the blog article, written by avowed anti-feminist Doug Giles, wanders off on a facetious rant, the author reels it in at the conclusion, with some very convincing bullet points (no pun intended). The Wall Street Journal article by Ryan Smith, an admittedly male veteran of combat in Iraq, lacks the facetiousness but presents a very graphic view of how abominable combat conditions are in reality as opposed to the stylized, Hollywoodesque view of them that seem to guide important decisions these days.

I can’t go along with political correctness in most situations, but when it can cause considerable harm on balance, I become exceptionally rancorous in denouncing it. ???? ???? ???