FC: Interview with Ryan McCombie

[Zenophile]

full article link: http://www.statecollege.com/news/lo...on-service-to-country-and-penn-state,1474221/

some quotes of note (emphasis is mine):

Ryan: This is a strong university. It has a tremendous base of support, but there are many who have told me personally they won’t come back until we deal with the Joe Paterno issue. These were huge donors. There are issues that are still unresolved. We need to actually sit down and address them.

........

Mimi: What do you see as the most important issue today for the board to be deliberating?

Ryan: Well, if you talk about the administration of the university, the most important one would be tuition. Our university is a great opportunity for first-time college students to go. I’m an example. For the healing, I still maintain that a review and acceptance or denial of the Freeh report, not the recommendations, is needed. Many were good and most of them implemented, nobody has an issue with that. Some of the verbiage, what was said and implied, inside the rhetoric of the Freeh report I find offensive and intrusive. One of the biggest issues is to be resolved from that period of time. Once that is, the other things all fall into place.

Mimi: At some point, it is time to move on. Some things just have to be said and move on.

Ryan: We can continue doing right for the university and resolve this. I think that if it was my parents, if it was your parents, I wouldn’t move on. I think justice, fairness, and legality is important. I spent most of my life in third-world countries where there was no justice or fairness, and there was no rule of law. I don’t want to come back to Centre County and watch that kind of thing happen again.​

 

[canuckhal]

I still maintain that a review and acceptance or denial of the Freeh report, not the recommendations, is needed

He is very careful in mentioning the alumni BOT review. If there is one, guess it isn't going to be conisidered or released any time soon.

 

[Zenophile]

I still maintain that a review and acceptance or denial of the Freeh report, not the recommendations, is needed

He is very careful in mentioning the alumni BOT review. If there is one, guess it isn't going to be conisidered or released any time soon.

My take on this quote was that he was referring to the need for a formal act by the full board.

 

[canuckhal]

My take on this quote was that he was referring to the need for a formal act by the full board.

I concur, but he knows about the "so called" A9 review.

 

[kgilbert78]

A

Big Hat. No Cattle.

But, just like the rest of the Statue Trustees, heaping piles of Bull Crap.

Eh, I'm more inclined to trust an ex-Seal than a convicted criminal like Dambly

 

[Bob78]

Mimi, at one time a good friend of Joe and the Paternos, has used her local T&G publications to push the 'move on' mantra in recent years. Her interview questions to McCombie were basically leading him that way, and to his credit, he hung in there with his answers and what he believes needs to be addressed. (No, Norm, I'm not saying that he was a strong advocate here, but I've read other Mimi interviews in her mags where the interviewee just goes along to get along. He didn't.)

Soon after the Freeh report, she did an interview in T&G with a guest where she said that she thought the report was very flawed and went too far. Since then, she has not only backed off that, but has basically been an OGBOT shill. What changed?

And how can someone go from being a friend of the Paterno family to allowing the narrative to linger? Says a lot about Mimi, and is why I tell wifey to 'put it down' when she picks up a T&G when out and about in State College.

The fact that we still have to deal with this from the media (including 'The Onion' now?! Or is that just another Onion farce?) and from columnists and on and on is the very reason we need to see the results from the review being made public. I hope.... but I don't know... that the A9 et. al. are continuing to push the legal side of this to get the court to rescind the gag order on what was found. Even if crap is still written about Joe and PSU, we would then know that we have all the information we need to combat it if we choose to. Just my opinion.

 

[Victor E. Bell]

Is he still blaming the alumni for the scandal? The respect I have for a Seal is hard to put into words. That doesn't mean I have to agree with him.

“There’s enough blame in this thing to go around,” he said. “I would also include the alumni. They were also asleep ... Everything was muddling along quite well, thank you.”

http://www.centredaily.com/news/local/education/penn-state/jerry-sandusky/article42809127.html

I was asleep. I never met or knew Jerry Sandusky or what he was doing. Next time I'll follow all of the thousands of PSU employees around and make sure they're on the up-and-up.

 

[demlion]

Is he still blaming the alumni for the scandal? The respect I have for a Seal is hard to put into words. That doesn't mean I have to agree with him.

“There’s enough blame in this thing to go around,” he said. “I would also include the alumni. They were also asleep ... Everything was muddling along quite well, thank you.”

http://www.centredaily.com/news/local/education/penn-state/jerry-sandusky/article42809127.html

I was asleep. I never met or knew Jerry Sandusky or what he was doing. Next time I'll follow all of the thousands of PSU employees around and make sure they're on the up-and-up.

He was a lot easier on Heim than you or me.

 

[Bob78]

Is he still blaming the alumni for the scandal? The respect I have for a Seal is hard to put into words. That doesn't mean I have to agree with him.

“There’s enough blame in this thing to go around,” he said. “I would also include the alumni. They were also asleep ... Everything was muddling along quite well, thank you.”

http://www.centredaily.com/news/local/education/penn-state/jerry-sandusky/article42809127.html

I was asleep. I never met or knew Jerry Sandusky or what he was doing. Next time I'll follow all of the thousands of PSU employees around and make sure they're on the up-and-up.

You may be right in how you interpreted that statement.

I took it to be a reference to how the alumni were asleep wrt what the BOT did and how it functioned and that kind of thing. I know I was certainly 'asleep' (completely unaware) when it came to the BOT pre-2011. I usually voted, but not every year, and often based on whether or not I knew, or knew of, the person. Suhey and Joyner are prime examples there. So, shame on me for not being more involved in knowing what was being discussed and how self-absorbed they were.
And when I read the JS stuff on here years before the fit hitting the shan in 2011, I didn't ask any questions about it of anyone I knew at PSU. I just dismissed it as ugly, untrue rumors or poor attempts at humor. Big mistake on my part.... with the benefit of hindsight.

 

[Victor E. Bell]

You may be right in how you interpreted that statement.

I took it to be a reference to how the alumni were asleep wrt what the BOT did and how it functioned and that kind of thing. I know I was certainly 'asleep' (completely unaware) when it came to the BOT pre-2011. I usually voted, but not every year, and often based on whether or not I knew, or knew of, the person. Suhey and Joyner are prime examples there. So, shame on me for not being more involved in knowing what was being discussed and how self-absorbed they were.
And when I read the JS stuff on here years before the fit hitting the shan in 2011, I didn't ask any questions about it of anyone I knew at PSU. I just dismissed it as ugly, untrue rumors or poor attempts at humor. Big mistake on my part.... with the benefit of hindsight.

How would any of us know what goes on in the Star Chamber? Of all the things that sent me ballistic in this whole thing, McCombie's statement that day takes the cake. It was ridiculous. I live in State College and I don't know any of these people or run in their circles. You get a few paragraphs about the people running for the board. I voted all the time too. How the F do we know who is in cahoots with who, or who is shady? Everybody looks like the walking incarnation of Jesus in their little bios. McCombie really pissed me off with that absurd statement. We voted for you people, for better or worse, with a certain expectation based on limited information. Then when the poop hits the blades it's our fault. Please. This is why I have not, nor ever will vote again.

 

[demlion]

How would any of us know what goes on in the Star Chamber? Of all the things that sent me ballistic in this whole thing, McCombie's statement that day takes the cake. It was ridiculous. I live in State College and I don't know any of these people or run in their circles. You get a few paragraphs about the people running for the board. I voted all the time too. How the F do we know who is in cahoots with who, or who is shady? Everybody looks like the walking incarnation of Jesus in their little bios. McCombie really pissed me off with that absurd statement. We voted for you people, for better or worse, with a certain expectation based on limited information. Then when the poop hits the blades it's our fault. Please. This is why I have not, nor ever will vote again.

Especially galling given his closeness to Heim and Heim's revealed assistance to Jerry AFTER Jerry was unable to go on the campus. I never heard of Bruce Heim until after the indictments.

 

[Victor E. Bell]

So, shame on me for not being more involved in knowing what was being discussed and how self-absorbed they were.

How would you possibly know that?

 

[AvgUser]

I still maintain that a review and acceptance or denial of the Freeh report, not the recommendations, is needed

He is very careful in mentioning the alumni BOT review. If there is one, guess it isn't going to be conisidered or released any time soon.

Sure it is. In September

 

[Bob78]

How would you possibly know that?

By being more involved, through attendance or through asking questions, about the BOT meetings, who was on which committees, what their business interests may have been, asking around town about personal conflicts, etc. (I could have found out about some of the animosity toward JVP from Surma and Suhey, for example.) To get to that point, I would have had to have significantly more interest in the process, in the people on the BOT, and be far more aware of the potential for them to screw up out of incompetence and/or self-interest. So we ended up with that dynamic duo from our BOT.

Those things are not generally on my, or most peoples', minds, especially when it comes to an educational institution BOT. I didn't know what I didn't know, but I also didn't express the necessary curiosity to find out more. In that way, I was asleep, as McCombie says. Speaking for myself, I have to agree with him on that. I profess a life-ling love for PSU, but I took its functioning and leadership for granted. I was 'groomed' by the BOT - those pillars of the community - in a sense.

The good news is, tens of thousands of us are now far more aware and concerned and curious. But the ounce of prevention would have served us well..... given hindsight.

 

[Victor E. Bell]

By being more involved, through attendance or through asking questions, about the BOT meetings, who was on which committees, what their business interests may have been, asking around town about personal conflicts, etc. (I could have found out about some of the animosity toward JVP from Surma and Suhey, for example.) To get to that point, I would have had to have significantly more interest in the process, in the people on the BOT, and be far more aware of the potential for them to screw up out of incompetence and/or self-interest. So we ended up with that dynamic duo from our BOT.

Those things are not generally on my, or most peoples', minds, especially when it comes to an educational institution BOT. I didn't know what I didn't know, but I also didn't express the necessary curiosity to find out more. In that way, I was asleep, as McCombie says. Speaking for myself, I have to agree with him on that. I profess a life-ling love for PSU, but I took its functioning and leadership for granted. I was 'groomed' by the BOT - those pillars of the community - in a sense.

The good news is, tens of thousands of us are now far more aware and concerned and curious. But the ounce of prevention would have served us well..... given hindsight.

I respectfully disagree, almost entirely. The dirt you wish to have dug up would never have been revealed to you. There is no way to have known the intricacies of the system or how to interpret same. I agree about being more involved but seeing as how most of our alumni are scattered to the four corners of the globe and have their own lives to manage, there are relatively few alums who have the ability or time to gauge the sliminess of the people who wish to operate the PSU machine. I guess that's true of any electoral process.

The bottom line is it's a dice roll and you take your chances but for a sitting member of the board to blame the people who put him there, for the failures of his predecessors is absurd. I can't believe nobody ever called McCombie out on this stance, and/or asked what he thought we could do to correct it because I would do so if there was a meaningful answer, but there is none. We can't even speak at the meetings anymore and when we could, people like Masser or Peetz would call the clock. Good luck getting your answers from these people.

 

[canuckhal]

By being more involved, through attendance or through asking questions, about the BOT meetings, who was on which committees, what their business interests may have been, asking around town about personal conflicts, etc. (I could have found out about some of the animosity toward JVP from Surma and Suhey, for example.) To get to that point, I would have had to have significantly more interest in the process, in the people on the BOT, and be far more aware of the potential for them to screw up out of incompetence and/or self-interest. So we ended up with that dynamic duo from our BOT.

Those things are not generally on my, or most peoples', minds, especially when it comes to an educational institution BOT. I didn't know what I didn't know, but I also didn't express the necessary curiosity to find out more. In that way, I was asleep, as McCombie says. Speaking for myself, I have to agree with him on that. I profess a life-ling love for PSU, but I took its functioning and leadership for granted. I was 'groomed' by the BOT - those pillars of the community - in a sense.

The good news is, tens of thousands of us are now far more aware and concerned and curious. But the ounce of prevention would have served us well..... given hindsight.

I've attended three universities. While a student, I had no idea nor cared about the BOT. As an alum, I had no idea nor cared about the BOT. I worked at four universities. I had no idea nor cared about the BOT.

Now, I know more about the BOT at PSU than I care to know. I hope to get back to not knowing and not caring.

In all instances, I did care about the President and the administration, but I don't ever remember an instance where I interacted with a BOT member.

 

[Art]

A


Eh, I'm more inclined to trust an ex-Seal than a convicted criminal like Dambly

Don't be so sure of that. A former Seal wrote significant segments of the Freeh report. Ooops, I overlooked how low you set the bar.

 

[Bob78]

I respectfully disagree, almost entirely. The dirt you wish to have dug up would never have been revealed to you. There is no way to have known the intricacies of the system or how to interpret same. I agree about being more involved but seeing as how most of our alumni are scattered to the four corners of the globe and have their own lives to manage, there are relatively few alums who have the ability or time to gauge the sliminess of the people who wish to operate the PSU machine. I guess that's true of any electoral process.

The bottom line is it's a dice roll and you take your chances but for a sitting member of the board to blame the people who put him there, for the failures of his predecessors is absurd. I can't believe nobody ever called McCombie out on this stance, and/or asked what he thought we could do to correct it because I would do so if there was a meaningful answer, but there is none. We can't even speak at the meetings anymore and when we could, people like Masser or Peetz would call the clock. Good luck getting your answers from these people.

I'm not disagreeing with you at all, but rather trying to answer the question about what I could have done differently to be awake - to whatever degree - rather than asleep. The way to have done that is admittedly not an overly practical way for the average person (and I'm not necessarily all the way up to average anyway!)

I mentioned Suhey and Surma.... soon after Nov. 9, 2011, a friend told me about the Vic Surma letter to the Lettermen, and told me about Suhey's animosity toward Joe, supposedly due to Suhey Jr. not getting a legit shot to play at PSU. That, along with the JS rumors that were floating now and then, and the many BOTs or their family members who were involved with TSM, would have been pieces of a puzzle that could be connected. Not saying I would have connected them, as I am not aware of anyone who did piece that all together prior to Nov. 2011.

But in hindsight, we now have a great example of how some of these relationships in a relatively small community can make or break the entire landscape of that community. We are now awake and aware... and still all but powerless anyway. I'm just lamenting my own lack of awareness or anyone's lack of intervention to do whatever could have been done to head it off. And I know that is a highly unlikely thing to have had happen in any event.

 

[Nittany Ziggy]

Is he still blaming the alumni for the scandal? The respect I have for a Seal is hard to put into words. That doesn't mean I have to agree with him.

“There’s enough blame in this thing to go around,” he said. “I would also include the alumni. They were also asleep ... Everything was muddling along quite well, thank you.”

http://www.centredaily.com/news/local/education/penn-state/jerry-sandusky/article42809127.html

I was asleep. I never met or knew Jerry Sandusky or what he was doing. Next time I'll follow all of the thousands of PSU employees around and make sure they're on the up-and-up.

Thanks for this reminder. I am closer to adopting your attitude of not donating $hit to this place. This is especially close as I have met my obligation regarding seats at the Beav.

 

[Nittany Ziggy]

I'm not disagreeing with you at all, but rather trying to answer the question about what I could have done differently to be awake - to whatever degree - rather than asleep. The way to have done that is admittedly not an overly practical way for the average person (and I'm not necessarily all the way up to average anyway!)

I mentioned Suhey and Surma.... soon after Nov. 9, 2011, a friend told me about the Vic Surma letter to the Lettermen, and told me about Suhey's animosity toward Joe, supposedly due to Suhey Jr. not getting a legit shot to play at PSU. That, along with the JS rumors that were floating now and then, and the many BOTs or their family members who were involved with TSM, would have been pieces of a puzzle that could be connected. Not saying I would have connected them, as I am not aware of anyone who did piece that all together prior to Nov. 2011.

But in hindsight, we now have a great example of how some of these relationships in a relatively small community can make or break the entire landscape of that community. We are now awake and aware... and still all but powerless anyway. I'm just lamenting my own lack of awareness or anyone's lack of intervention to do whatever could have been done to head it off. And I know that is a highly unlikely thing to have had happen in any event.

The stuff you are talking about being revealed was BURIED prior to November 2011. There is no way in hell that that we could have known how our BOT was dominated by just a select few power mongers. After the presentment, some people realized that they were "had" and they began to lift the kimono.

You could have attended every BOT meeting for 2 decades and you would have only been modestly more informed than I (who never voted and only donated enough to get a reserved parking spot near the stadium). The real shit was disguised and the system was designed to hide it.

 

[Bob78]

The stuff you are talking about being revealed was BURIED prior to November 2011. There is no way in hell that that we could have known how our BOT was dominated by just a select few power mongers. After the presentment, some people realized that they were "had" and they began to lift the kimono.

You could have attended every BOT meeting for 2 decades and you would have only been modestly more informed than I (who never voted and only donated enough to get a reserved parking spot near the stadium). The real shit was disguised and the system was designed to hide it.

Well, some folks had some info which amounted to just a couple pieces of the puzzle, and they may or may not have even known that there was a puzzle to be put together!

An ex-BOT person wrote an article about how the BOT worked/works at some point, but I cannot even recall if that was after or before 2011. So, ex-BOTs knew what was what. Again, pieces of the puzzle were there, but it is not reasonable to think that anyone could have had enough foresight to put it all together. I'm lamenting more than anything, and not at all trying to say there was a failure by alumni.

The best way for this to be something other than the PSU/JVP mess in the eyes of the media was for our own BOT to get in front of this early and often and protect our institution.
That, and then for LE, CYS, TSM, etc. to have done their jobs when informed back in 2001. Short of that, to have owned up to their failures.

 

[Victor E. Bell]

Thanks for this reminder. I am closer to adopting your attitude of not donating $hit to this place. This is especially close as I have met my obligation regarding seats at the Beav.

It's still hard for me to explain how apoplectic I went when I saw this quote from him. It has been completely ignored.

 

[MtNittany]

Eff this old washcloth Mimi. She's part of the problem - certainly not a part of any solution.

 

[Keyser Soze 16801]

Money is a drug. Mimi, Dambly, and Lubert among others are addicted to the money that PSU puts in their pockets. The scandal put that money at risk. As powerful people, they manipulated the situation to minimize the chances that the money train would be derailed. Remember this -- Penn State to you is a place you love but to them it is a cash cow. They did what they needed to do to keep the milk flowing and as members of the arrogant elite they are not about to backtrack. Ever.

 

[Fizz1]

Well, some folks had some info which amounted to just a couple pieces of the puzzle, and they may or may not have even known that there was a puzzle to be put together!

An ex-BOT person wrote an article about how the BOT worked/works at some point, but I cannot even recall if that was after or before 2011. So, ex-BOTs knew what was what. Again, pieces of the puzzle were there, but it is not reasonable to think that anyone could have had enough foresight to put it all together. I'm lamenting more than anything, and not at all trying to say there was a failure by alumni.

The best way for this to be something other than the PSU/JVP mess in the eyes of the media was for our own BOT to get in front of this early and often and protect our institution.
That, and then for LE, CYS, TSM, etc. to have done their jobs when informed back in 2001. Short of that, to have owned up to their failures.

This may be the article of which you're thinking. It is by Ben Novak, former PSU BOT. https://nittanyvalley.org/2013/06/2...enn-state-board-of-trustees-really-functions/

 

[Victor E. Bell]

Well, some folks had some info which amounted to just a couple pieces of the puzzle, and they may or may not have even known that there was a puzzle to be put together!

An ex-BOT person wrote an article about how the BOT worked/works at some point, but I cannot even recall if that was after or before 2011. So, ex-BOTs knew what was what. Again, pieces of the puzzle were there, but it is not reasonable to think that anyone could have had enough foresight to put it all together. I'm lamenting more than anything, and not at all trying to say there was a failure by alumni.

The best way for this to be something other than the PSU/JVP mess in the eyes of the media was for our own BOT to get in front of this early and often and protect our institution.
That, and then for LE, CYS, TSM, etc. to have done their jobs when informed back in 2001. Short of that, to have owned up to their failures.

Ben Novak

 

[Victor E. Bell]

The scandal put that money at risk.

Maybe but it also made a shitload of money for a lot of people. Probably the same people.

 

[Nittany Ziggy]

An ex-BOT person wrote an article about how the BOT worked/works at some point, but I cannot even recall if that was after or before 2011. So, ex-BOTs knew what was what.

It is by Ben Novak, former PSU BOT. https://nittanyvalley.org/2013/06/2...enn-state-board-of-trustees-really-functions/

Bob78 - It was way AFTER Nov 2011 (as I referenced in my "opening their kimono" statement).
Please read my tagline that goes below every post I make. The BOT was not incompetent. They buried their flag on the 50 yard lion and declared victory (to use a metaphor).

 

[Bob78]

Bob78 - It was way AFTER Nov 2011 (as I referenced in my "opening their kimono" statement).
Please read my tagline that goes below every post I make. The BOT was not incompetent. They buried their flag on the 50 yard lion and declared victory (to use a metaphor).

I'm in agreement with you, Ziggy.

Regardless of when the article was written, and thanks to those who correctly pinpointed it, there were ex-BOT members who knew how screwed up the system was, how it was truly run, etc., well before 2011, but did nothing to use that piece of the puzzle to create a cause for change.

Again, my agreement with McCombie's statement about being asleep is to say that I certainly was... asleep, oblivious, unconcerned, whatever anyone wants to call it. I'm not blaming myself for that, and certainly not blaming anyone else, just saying how not holding the BOT accountable was a contributing factor to how they have been allowed to get away with all the crap they get away with. And that, imo, confirms what you are saying.

And it is why I read what Barry Norman writes, because despite his old style, he called/calls people out and does what he can to try to make people accountable. I sometimes don't agree with him, but his points, and many others here, are well worth reading.

 

[Nittany Ziggy]

I'm in agreement with you, Ziggy.

Regardless of when the article was written, and thanks to those who correctly pinpointed it, there were ex-BOT members who knew how screwed up the system was, how it was truly run, etc., well before 2011, but did nothing to use that piece of the puzzle to create a cause for change.

Again, my agreement with McCombie's statement about being asleep is to say that I certainly was... asleep, oblivious, unconcerned, whatever anyone wants to call it. I'm not blaming myself for that, and certainly not blaming anyone else, just saying how not holding the BOT accountable was a contributing factor to how they have been allowed to get away with all the crap they get away with. And that, imo, confirms what you are saying.

And it is why I read what Barry Norman writes, because despite his old style, he called/calls people out and does what he can to try to make people accountable. I sometimes don't agree with him, but his points, and many others here, are well worth reading.

Got it Bob78 but, wow, you are blaming yourself for something that you could no way in hell have been aware of, no matter how AWAKE you were. This is a huge distinction and where we part ways. The "dark state" had taken control of the BOT.

 

[Bob78]

Got it Bob78 but, wow, you are blaming yourself for something that you could no way in hell have been aware of, no matter how AWAKE you were. This is a huge distinction and where we part ways. The "dark state" had taken control of the BOT.

Well, I'm not really blaming myself, just supporting what I think McCombie's point was about alumni being oblivious, right, wrong, or otherwise. Others disagree with me on what his point is, and that's ok.... they may be right.
I agree that controlling the OGBOT was and is way out of my sphere of control. The alumni as a whole has tried to make them accountable as a result of JS, but that has proven to be a near-impossible task. So, your "dark state" phrasing is largely accurate, imo. And they seem to be proud of it.

 

[Fox Chapel Lion II]

Eff this old washcloth Mimi. She's part of the problem - certainly not a part of any solution.

Mimi is about 97 years old and has made a zillion dollars thanks to her connections to the powers-that-be.

That old bag should have moved to Florida and stayed out in the sun a long long time ago.

 

[Nittany Ziggy]

Well, I'm not really blaming myself, just supporting what I think McCombie's point was about alumni being oblivious, right, wrong, or otherwise. Others disagree with me on what his point is, and that's ok.... they may be right.
I agree that controlling the OGBOT was and is way out of my sphere of control. The alumni as a whole has tried to make them accountable as a result of JS, but that has proven to be a near-impossible task. So, your "dark state" phrasing is largely accurate, imo. And they seem to be proud of it.

Interchange "Bob78" with "alumni". What is the difference that I am not seeing?

 

[Bob78]

Interchange "Bob78" with "alumni". What is the difference that I am not seeing?

The difference is in how I am interpreting what McCombie said vs. how you and VB are. I do not read it as him intending to literally assign blame to alumni, despite him using that phrase (and that is why I am qualifying all of this as my interpretation of what he said), but rather just stating a fact that alumni were unaware. I'm giving him some leeway, and inserting my own assumption, in that he possibly misspoke what he intended to convey. He is otherwise rather reasonable with most of what he is saying, despite not going far enough for my liking, so I'm taking his larger context into account vs. just that one phrase.

Then again, a couple of (relatively!) reasonable posters are adamant that he really is assigning blame, which I agree would be a very strange thing to do on his part. And I agree that none of us should shoulder actual blame for the OGBOT failures of 2011. I have said, as have many, that damage control and PR failures were foreseeable and preventable.

To me, his larger point was that we as alumni were unaware, or asleep, and largely not involved, and I think that is accurate. It's not a negative, but rather that's the way things were, and it is a stretch to think it would be otherwise when things are humming along smoothly to the outside world... which is also part of what he said.

I won't change your mind, and that's ok. You make good points. I'm just not with you on each specific one. But I still love ya, Ziggy!

 

[Tom McAndrew]

Mimi, at one time a good friend of Joe and the Paternos, has used her local T&G publications to push the 'move on' mantra in recent years. Her interview questions to McCombie were basically leading him that way, and to his credit, he hung in there with his answers and what he believes needs to be addressed. (No, Norm, I'm not saying that he was a strong advocate here, but I've read other Mimi interviews in her mags where the interviewee just goes along to get along. He didn't.)

Soon after the Freeh report, she did an interview in T&G with a guest where she said that she thought the report was very flawed and went too far. Since then, she has not only backed off that, but has basically been an OGBOT shill. What changed?

And how can someone go from being a friend of the Paterno family to allowing the narrative to linger? Says a lot about Mimi, and is why I tell wifey to 'put it down' when she picks up a T&G when out and about in State College.

I thought of Bob78's post when I stumbled upon this article:

StateCollege.com: Coppersmith Honored with Centre Foundation Oak Tree Award

 

[Art]

Mimi is about 97 years old and has made a zillion dollars thanks to her connections to the powers-that-be.

That old bag should have moved to Florida and stayed out in the sun a long long time ago.

Bitch is one of the biggest whores that ever spread 'em.

 

[Bob78]

I thought of Bob78's post when I stumbled upon this article:

StateCollege.com: Coppersmith Honored with Centre Foundation Oak Tree Award

Omg... you thought of me when you saw something about Mimi?!?!?

There ain't enough of these little guys: for me to adequately express my horror at that association!!

Here's a story about my one and only interaction with Mimi -

I was involved with the pre-season DelVal NLC event for a number of years. Mimi called me and asked if I wanted to sell the pre-season T&G Football Preview at the event. She would sell to us for say $2 off the list price (I forget the exact discount), we could charge the list price or less, whatever we chose to do, and the profits would be ours. We donated profits back to the NLC anyway. So, at the event, we rarely had more than 60 or 70 people, but it was always a fun evening. (Except the year Joe Sarra spoke... but that's another story!).

At first I said thanks but no to Mimi, as I thought there would be a low volume of mags sold, but Mimi said give it a try, see how it goes. So I ordered just a few from her, like maybe 12 or 15 mags. Whatever profit wasn't going to do anything for us anyway, we generally made maybe $100 profit at most on the event in a good year - our big event was in the spring with JoePa speaking to maybe 500 or 600 folks.

So the company (Barash Publishing, I think? But from here on: Mimi) sends the agreed-to number of mags. But in the meantime, since I wanted to get all the 'accounting' done in advance, I already paid the bill out of my own checking account at the rate we agreed to. And that would be part of my contribution to the event, along with the usual bottles of booze for the baskets of cheer. So, the invoice is off by - not kidding - 2 cents. She billed me 2 cents more than what the total should have been. No biggie, an obvious typo, they had their money anyway. I ignore the difference, mark the invoice paid and file it away with the rest of the receipts for the event.
The event comes, and we sell maybe 5 or 6 mags at the event. Grrrrr. The other NLC folks already have theirs or don't want any, so I'm stuck. (I may still have a few somewhere if anyone is interested!)

Next thing I know, I get a "Late Notice" invoice from Mimi, indicating the 2 cents is past due. Again, I figure some half-asleep accounting clerk just sent it out when the accounting didn't balance. I ignore it. A few weeks later, another past due invoice with the big ol' stamp on it about adding late payment charges! So, I'm done chuckling at this cute little small-town snippet of Americana, and I call Mimi. Mimi, you've spent XX cents in postage, not to mention staff work time, and now our mutual time to make this call, trying to collect 2 cents that you misbilled in the first place. Oh, and by the way, hardly any mags sold, so we're not doing this again. What say we call this done and over? She gave me a short and snippy "Ok", and hung up.

Thus endeth the Saga of Mimi and Her Two Cents.

 

[Tom McAndrew]

Omg... you thought of me when you saw something about Mimi?!?!?

There ain't enough of these little guys: for me to adequately express my horror at that association!!

lol, nice story.

and to clarify, I thought of your POST (I actually didn't remember who had made it, just its contents), when I saw the article. It wasn't until I searched for it and found it that I discovered that it was made by you.

 

[Bob78]

lol, nice story.

and to clarify, I thought of your POST (I actually didn't remember who had made it, just its contents), when I saw the article. It wasn't until I searched for it and found it that I discovered that it was made by you.

Too late to sweet-talk me now, Tom.
I stand by my outrage!

 

[Nittany Ziggy]

Omg... you thought of me when you saw something about Mimi?!?!?

There ain't enough of these little guys: for me to adequately express my horror at that association!!

Here's a story about my one and only interaction with Mimi -

I was involved with the pre-season DelVal NLC event for a number of years. Mimi called me and asked if I wanted to sell the pre-season T&G Football Preview at the event. She would sell to us for say $2 off the list price (I forget the exact discount), we could charge the list price or less, whatever we chose to do, and the profits would be ours. We donated profits back to the NLC anyway. So, at the event, we rarely had more than 60 or 70 people, but it was always a fun evening. (Except the year Joe Sarra spoke... but that's another story!).

At first I said thanks but no to Mimi, as I thought there would be a low volume of mags sold, but Mimi said give it a try, see how it goes. So I ordered just a few from her, like maybe 12 or 15 mags. Whatever profit wasn't going to do anything for us anyway, we generally made maybe $100 profit at most on the event in a good year - our big event was in the spring with JoePa speaking to maybe 500 or 600 folks.

So the company (Barash Publishing, I think? But from here on: Mimi) sends the agreed-to number of mags. But in the meantime, since I wanted to get all the 'accounting' done in advance, I already paid the bill out of my own checking account at the rate we agreed to. And that would be part of my contribution to the event, along with the usual bottles of booze for the baskets of cheer. So, the invoice is off by - not kidding - 2 cents. She billed me 2 cents more than what the total should have been. No biggie, an obvious typo, they had their money anyway. I ignore the difference, mark the invoice paid and file it away with the rest of the receipts for the event.
The event comes, and we sell maybe 5 or 6 mags at the event. Grrrrr. The other NLC folks already have theirs or don't want any, so I'm stuck. (I may still have a few somewhere if anyone is interested!)

Next thing I know, I get a "Late Notice" invoice from Mimi, indicating the 2 cents is past due. Again, I figure some half-asleep accounting clerk just sent it out when the accounting didn't balance. I ignore it. A few weeks later, another past due invoice with the big ol' stamp on it about adding late payment charges! So, I'm done chuckling at this cute little small-town snippet of Americana, and I call Mimi. Mimi, you've spent XX cents in postage, not to mention staff work time, and now our mutual time to make this call, trying to collect 2 cents that you misbilled in the first place. Oh, and by the way, hardly any mags sold, so we're not doing this again. What say we call this done and over? She gave me a short and snippy "Ok", and hung up.

Thus endeth the Saga of Mimi and Her Two Cents.

Thanks for sharing. She never considered postage or time. It was all about her ego (perhaps the size of her ).