I’m sure you know this. The University of Missouri football players decided they would strike this week unless the president of their university, Timothy M. Wolfe, resigned. There had been protests on the Missouri University campus that the president wasn’t sufficiently – I’m not really certain what he wasn’t doing right but let’s skip that for a moment.
Last year the chairman of the Board of Curators which runs the university praised Wolfe and noted after the Board voted to extend Wolfe’s contract to 2018. “President Wolfe has thoughtfully transformed our strategic planning process in a way that focuses our limited resources on priorities while reducing or eliminating waste and redundancies,”
What happened that caused such a change that he was tossed out the door?
President Wolfe in his resignation told us: “It is my belief we stopped listening to each other. We have to respect each other enough to stop yelling at each other and start listening, and quit intimidating each other. I take full responsibility for this frustration, and I take full responsibility for the inaction that has occurred.”
I suppose if you translate that it means the football game must go on at all costs. Missouri is schedule to play BYU this Saturday and it is said that if they don’t field a team then they will forfeit one million dollars.
This is pretty serious stuff having a football team take down the president of a university. You would think he must have done something pretty drastic for that to happen. His statement did not tell us what he did. Was it because he stopped listening? Did he yell too much? Was he intimidating others?
When I read his resignation statement that seems to be the case. But then he concludes by saying he accepts responsibility for the “inaction.” Yelling and intimidating are not inaction. Or, is he saying, that others were not listening, and were yelling and intimidating and he did nothing about it? I’m really confused.
Reading more I find that one black student was on a hunger strike because of racism on the campus. Other black students complained about it. Specific examples of it seem to be lacking. I guess it was just a feeling the black students had. Even so, up until the football team threatened to strike no one seemed to care
It should be noted that the football coach Gary Pinkel supported the players demand. In 2014 his compensation was $3.4 million. When his team went to the conference title game he received a contract extension and a raise to more than $3.75 million for this year and 4.1 for next year. In 2014 he got bonuses of $900.000. (The president’s pay is about half of his bonus.)
Ponkel’s caving to his players is disgraceful No wonder this year Pinkel’s team has a record of 4 wins and 5 losses. His team ranks 127 out of 127 Division 1 football teams in scoring. They are even below pathetic BC which is at 118. (Hope BC’s coach doesn’t demand equal pay for equal performance.)
How ironic Pinkel is demanding the president resign. He should look in the mirror and figure the university would be better off if he did. How can a coach possibly support players who plan to strike against the university’s administration? What lesson does that teach? The young lads should have been told if they don’t show up they are jeopardize their positions on the team. Otherwise, you have the tiny tail wagging the Great Dane.
I find all that is happening quite intriguing. Those who demanded and secured the president’s resignation pointed to nothing specific but an atmosphere of racism. They are demanding that something, quite unspecified, be done about that. Some suggest that the riots in Ferguson made them aware of the racist atmosphere. The situation is quite amorphous and to be blunt, weird.
Yet I have to say I love it. It tells a lot about America’s schools of higher education where the football players can demand that the president resign and he does even though his offense seems to be not taking the unknown action that some demanded. Think on that a second. Football players pointing to nothing specific have ousted a university president.
When Japan attacked America at Pearl Harbor one Japanese admiral said it was a big mistake since they had awakened the sleeping giant. We must wait and see if the Missouri football players will also awaken the sleeping giant which in this case is the power of the football players to dictate university leadership. Sit back and enjoy the ride.
Thank you for the insight. I’m convinced that Pat Nee was the “masked man” in the car during the McIntyre murder. I also read Nee’s and Week’s books. Those were the “rubbish” I mentioned in my last comment. I didn’t realize he was getting his separation of ” fact from fiction” from the folks you mention. That’s disappointing. Perhaps I’ll just delete it from my Nook and wait for Whitey’s memoirs to come out. Do you think that will ever happen? Thanks for taking the time to respond. I love the blog. Keep up the good work.
Bob:
My information on Whitey is that he is in discussions with a NY City writer telling his part of the story. I do not know that for sure but I know the person who told me has had discussions with Whitey and that is apparently what he said. I too am waiting to see what he says. I hope to visit him this winter in Florida if things can be arranged. If the visit comes off I will know more.
Matt I only hope all of this ridiculous behavior that we have to put up with is just the pendulum swinging away from the current norm of conservatives cow towing to the liberals idea that they are being oppressed. Openly calling for the killing of cops as retribution for the perceived wrongs they have been dealt is just crazy and dangerous. Going after an entire company because one employee made an off color homosexual joke is a not the way to effectively make changes. My hope is that eventually the pendulum swings back towards the middle when law abiding people of all races and sexual orientations stand up against the liberal vocal minority and tells them that police will do our bidding because we can’t, won’t or choose not to and they have our complete backing. If you don’t comply they will make you comply and we will support them.
On another note, I am a transplanted Bostonian who followed the Bulger case over the years. I’ve read most of the books on the topic. Some good, some rubbish. I just picked up T S Elliot’s Where the Bodies Are Burried and wonder if you’ve read it and have an opinion about it. I’ve read his other stuff and he seems pretty authoritative on the topic of the Irish Gangs.
Bob:
I also hope the pendulum comes back a little. Right now it seems we are supposed to bow before anyone who has a grievance real or imagined. However, I think it will get worse before it gets better because the actions of people in resigning for no apparent reasons because some don’t like them will just embolden them.
I did read parts of TJ English’s book about the buried bodies. It’s good i some parts but horrible in others. For one thing he is guided in his thought process by Pat Nee and Kevin Weeks two guys from South Boston with scores to settle and he treats them as if they are on the level. That was a great disappointment to me. Another thing is he follows along the line of the other writers in assuming that what they have written is correct without giving it serious scrutiny. He also suggests that the Congressional Hearing and Judge Gertner’s opinions are his go to documents and they too suffer from the bias that has crept into the case. He knows enough but not enough to avoid some of the traps that have been set.
I like his writing style. I am glad that he reproduces some of the bench conferences at the trial which I was not privy to hearing because it gave me a better insight into some of the issues. What his book showed me is that all history is written from sources who have certain biases. English lists out his sources and they pretty much consist of a hate Whitey club. I hope at some time to do a dissection of his book and give examples of his obvious failings but for starters his meetings with Nee (which an examination of the evidence would put up the top of the list of the people who murdered John McIntyre) and Weeks (who might have been in it with Nee) show he was often on the wrong track. No go to the page after 416 in his book and see who he says he is indebted to for separating fact from fiction “Ray Flynn, . . Kevin Weeks, Patrick Nee, . . Anthony Cardinale, Harvey Silverglate, . . Robert Fitzpatrick, Thomas Foley, . . John Martorano, Jimmy Martorano, Steve Davis, . . .John Connolly, Howie Carr, Michelle McPhee . . . ” In my book after meeting with them you would be totally confused if you did not understand that each had his own ax to grind and none had a clear grasp of the truth.
I have two college graduate daughters. They would tell us stories of their liberal professors and administrators and how they felt they were being bombarded with messages of liberalism. Gender neutral bathrooms depending on which gender you currently identify with etc. I find it ironic now that our places of higher education that indoctrinate our young people to the liberal ideals are now being forced to deal with the monsters they have created.
Being a conservative in California is no easy task. I have learned they most liberals are nice and agreeable as long as you agree with them. Everybody is worried about being slighted or treated the least bit different from someone else that they are hyper sensitive to everything. Is the Haloween Store really a racist company because they have costumes of a Native American or a Mexican complete with sombrero and poncho? Now a University President has resigned because of student and faculty pressure over some idiot yelling racial slurs from the back of a pick up truck and another Einstein shaping feces into a symbol of mainly Jewish oppression. Nobody has been identified as the culprit in either instance and the President has now resigned because he wasn’t sincere or vigilant enough in his pursuit of the culprits. You talk about waking a sleeping giant. I say waking a giant monster.
Bob:
Great comment. Well written. My sentiments exactly. If my daughter wants to shower without men being around and gawking she is considered as some sort of bigot. True, it is more the wakening of a giant monster than a sleeping giant. I actually am glad to see the results of the ridiculous idea of “you can’t comment on that because you are not one of them” play out. Perhaps some good will come from it when people realize you do need some basic standards of behavior and decency to keep the barbarians from running rough shod over all of us.
Academia is a lost cause in America. All the administrators are hand wringers and frightened apprehenders. Weakness is a condition precedent to hold those positions. Congress should require that all college presidents be ex Marines, Delta force or Navy Seals. On a more important subject what is your take on the NY AG’s ruling on Draft King being a gambling out fit? Could Kraft be indicted in NY? Did you watch the Republican debate? Rand Paul is the only real conservative in the race. The no fly zone in Syria advocates will get us into a nuclear war with Russia. 2. What is your take on the Epstein child sex ring? Who was the real Godfather of the Epstein ring? Was Torture calling the shots while getting a message in his underwear? Happy Veterans Day. It coincides with Armistice Day 11-11-18 that ended WW1. If one reads Larsen’s DEAD WAKE and Martel’s 30 Days that Changed the World it’s hard not to conclude that the Brits were the main culprits in the war. Martel lists five reasons for the conflict : 1 secret alliances 2 nationalism 3 militarism 4 economic imperialism and 5 the newspaper press. A century ago the public was fed reliably false war propaganda and today nothing has improved.
NC:
Good notes.
1. Academic leaders are notable for being like palm trees always swaying to the slightest breeze to ease their lives – they are best found hiding behind podiums or desks and commanding the sways of other palms. They do poorly when hurricanes come since they cannot bend down far enough in front of them so they often get uprooted. Fortunately for most hurricanes are rare and the winds from the left blow often so they bend that way.
2. The New York Draft King’s ruling shows our attorney general is about as weak as they come. Our law is clear but she is not concerned with enforcing all the law but rather some – mostly on the discrimination matters. For her not to see
GamblingDraft Kings is a major gambling operation equivalent to the Mafia running the bookies shows us again that our attorney generals are in the tank to someone other than the people. If the federals get involved I suspect they will find lots of contact between DraftKings and the Massachusetts decision makers. Kraft won’t be indicted because he operates behind front men.3. I watched the Republican debate. Paul has as much chance as I do – no one in the face of IS is going to want to walk away. Sadly we opened the Pandora’s Box in the Middle East and released as many ills upon the world as came from the original opening so they are all coming back to sting us. We have no good choices in the Middle East – we were top dogs as long as we maintained air superiority – yes, the idea of a no fly zone after the Russians started flying is absurd. Bush and Obama have proved intellectually deficient in understanding that area. Clinton knew enough to stay out but not enough to figure out what to do.
I like Carly Forina a lot – she’s really what we need a tough lady; Rubio is too strident and rehearsed to figure out; Bush too lost at sea and stumbles when he talks like his dangerous brother; Carson is like a walking zombie with no emotions and little idea of what has gone on in the world since Joseph stored his corn in the Pyramids – Cruz is a little daffy and too much Texan ready to get into a shoot out – Kasich makes the most sense and probably would be most qualified but his reaction to the pie in the sky ideas of others makes him look a little too grouchy and Americans like smiley; Paul is the most conservative but he is living in the wrong era – now Americans are scared; and Trump is a dumb joke of a person who shows that you don’t have to have a brain in your head to get ahead in America; all you need is to inherit much money and be Hensley-like.
4. Epstein is a good Democrat who got a good deal from timid prosecutors who were afraid of Professor Torture who ran about investigating people and found himself in a barrel of crap. I don’t think Torture was getting any messages in his underwear but you might know something I don’t – although I would not rule out Bill Clinton dropping a few notes in there – Didn’t Epstein have sixteen telephone numbers for Bill in his his phone book – do you think he helped Bill when his usual phone partner Monica was not available?
5. We used to celebrate Armistice Day but then turned it into Veterans Day – just like we used to celebrate Washington’s birthday but turned it into President’s Day – and soon we will be celebrating Thanksgiving as Shopping Day and Christmas will be known as Gift Day – which fits in with the Brits Boxing Day. Thanksgiving is offensive to atheists who have no one to thank; Christmas is offensive to those who do not like Christians or who are not Christians and we do not want to be an offensive society.
6. Almost all wars are started on false pretenses. WWII despite Pat Buchanan’s nonsense was probably justified as was the Korean War. I don’t understand the people’s fondness for sending young people off to be killed in these fake wars. WWI like the Boer War kept the Brits on the home front occupied while those in power stayed away from the war front. It is all human nature – nothing ever changes except things like Professor Torture changing his underwear.
The difference between now and a century ago is that then America was on the rise.