It is rare for a post on catholicfundamentalism.com to be titled with three proper nouns. What’s the common ground? Is there common ground? Well, Jerry Sandusky and Michael Mann were both associated with Penn State.
Jerry Sandusky is a convicted child molester. He sexually abused a lot of young, mostly fatherless, boys. He and his wife denied that he did anything wrong. Penn State administrators ignored the allegations and charges against Jerry Sandusky.
Is there a parallel between Jerry Sandusky and Michael Mann? Dr. Michael Mann used to work at the University of Virginia. Many people want to see the work that he did there. They believe that, since his salary was paid by taxpayers, they have a right to see his work.
Dr. Michael Mann does not want to give access to that work. Is there a fear that fraud will be found? Is there a fear that obvious mistakes will be uncovered? Are they afraid there may be evidence of altered work? Falsified evidence? Manipulated statistics? Underlying all those fears, is there a greater fear that Global Warming,itself, may be identified as a scam?
Penn State, where Michael Mann now works, had what was called “an investigation” of Michael Mann’s work at that university. The “investigation” was done by people who also worked at Penn State. They found none of the wrongdoing that others claimed to have discovered. Few were surprised, though some wished they could have been in the whitewash business.
Unfortunately, there is no crying urge for truth about whether or not Michael Mann is guilty of making mistakes, as there was with Jerry Sandusky. No one really cares that much if Global Warming is real, or not.
But, if Penn State really wants to provide taxpayers with proof that it is greatly concerned about academic truth and excellence, a better investigation will be ordered.
In the meantime, people trying to join “scientific credibility” and “Penn State” in a positive way may continue to roll their eyes. This age, when internet education makes institutions like Penn State look like dying dinosaurs, is also an age when college football is beloved mostly by people with nothing better to do.
The lack of speed and zeal in seeking truth is very understandable, especially when such truths jeopardize funding necessary to maintain what are, in a thorough analysis, bastions of uselessness.