Filmmaker and blogger John Ziegler is working on a documentary called “Framing Paterno”, in connection with which, Ziegler interviewed the Tickle Monster in mid-March. Not wishing to allow a hefty bit of sensationalism like a Sandusky interview lie unexploited while languishing in the secular backwater of a pro-Penn State/pro-Paterno blog, producers of the TODAY Show latched onto Ziegler’s interview. Matt Lauer questioned Ziegler at length about it.
From this turkey’s perspective, there’s nothing very remarkable there, other than that Ziegler claims to have three-and-a-half hours of questions and answers with the erstwhile Tickle Monster. However, what I do find remarkable in a very negative sense, is that public sentiment, at least as expressed by the blow-hards who populate Internet comment streams, is just as irrationally anti-Penn State as ever. There are 468 comments to the TODAY article; the vast preponderance still are blind-ass castigation of Penn State and everyone even peripherally aligned with Penn State. Half of them are hiding behind the viccccccccccctimmmmmmmmmms; the other half are employing a non-sequitur to paint anyone who supports Penn State as a dirty, no good, yellow-bellied child molester.
Apparently, they didn’t get the message. Bob Costas is supposed to be their god, and they’re supposed to change their tune, just as he did. Costas even works for NBC and interviewed Sandusky himself. Oops, I guess no one is listening to St. Louie Bob.
The Paterno family and the University have distanced themselves from Ziegler and the Sandusky tapes.
We impatient types are going to have to wait some more before this public disdain recedes to any significant extent. That sucks.
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Joe says
I think we all agree, that it would take some unimpeachable piece of hard evidence that totally exonerates Joe for the vast majority of the current public sentiment to change. While I find it encouraging that people like Costas, Maisel, and some others are willing to admit that maybe there was a “Crucify Him” attitude from the masses when this story first broke, they will for the most part be few and far between and essentially ignored.
I gave up reading comments on any of the mainstream web sites that featured a story on PS or Paterno that didn’t follow the print narrative a long time ago for a couple of reasons.
1. Trolls are everywhere and throw shit out there just to elicit a response from the zealots (this is everywhere) and
2. I was getting more and more discouraged at reading the lack of clear thought, poor grammar and lack of knowledge exhibited by the vast majority of the people writing comments (this blog excluded of course).
So I avoid those like the plague and since no one listens to logic or reason or cares whether they got the facts correct, why bother.
I understand Piers Stefan Pughe-Morgan and Ziegler went at like two dogs yesterday. Here’s a couple clips of the “interview”:
http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/crime/2013/03/26/pmt-ziegler-sandusky-paterno-film.cnn
http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/bestoftv/2013/03/26/pmt-penn-state-scandal-joe-paterno-john-ziegler.cnn
So all of the Thornburgh or Clemente reports in the world are not going to change attitudes like Morgans. No one wants to listen and the media certainly isn’t going to admit that perhaps they were a bit hasty in forming an opinion on what happened. No one wants to say “we just don’t know.”
Right now, I’m to the point that everyone should just shut up until Curley, Schultz, and Spanier have their day in court. This is the only event that has the potential to shed any new light on this whole stinking shit pile and even that isn’t a foregone conclusion that we will learn anything new.
I have no idea if clearing Joe’s name is Ziegler’s sole motivation, but playing parts of 3 1/2 hours of phone interviews with Jerry Sandusky is not going to convince me (or anyone else) of Joe’s culpability or lack thereof in this mess.
I do believe we need to get to the bottom of this mess with the BoT (and hopefully the 2nd mile), but Ziegler ranting on the Piers Morgan show only serves to tear the scab off the wound and get the blood flowing again.
We probably need to start talking about the upcoming football season real soon!!!!!
The Nittany Turkey says
Butbutbut… I can’t stop writing about this shit!!!
I’m in the vortex.
Aieeeeeeeeeeeeee….
—TNT