The Thanksgiving football were on and I just couldn't help but look at all the "manly" and "masculine" men with the Motorola headsets and the men with very tight pants who are probably hopped up on testosterone and think, wow, which ones are raping boys when they think nobody is looking? It's the same way the world is looking at priests since the abuse scandal broke almost ten years ago.
Human beings want to find order and predictability in their world. If they hear about a scandal like this, they want to find ways that this would be impossible in their own sphere of influence.
In Massachusetts, at a basketball camp, some older students put "bodily fluids" on an oreo and forced a younger student to eat the oreo as part of a "hazing ritual." Here is a link to the news video.Here is an incident in Idaho of sexual hazing in sports. Is it any wonder that Jerry Sandusky was able to sodomize children for decades and not be caught? Let me rephrase, he was caught, he was not reported and the behavior was not considered unusual enough to consult the police or to EVEN STOP IT RIGHT THEN AND THERE.
The sheer masculinity of American football's image makes the rape of boys by a famous coach very shocking. Isn't masculinity defined by protecting women and children, by honor and dignity, and by truth and justice? No! Christian masculinity is all those things. Relativist masculinity is power, might, use of others for sex, sexual conquest, porn, and fame. Jerry Sandusky had all these things. Let's learn more.
Before his discovery as a child rapist, he was interviewed about his project to "help" underprivileged children, The .
Here is the interview with on the NBC show "Rock Center." Note a few glaring tells of lying.
repeating the question and otherwise delaying an answer
NO OUTRAGE
evasive answers, hesitation
"I have hugged them.. I have touched their legs." Attempts to minimize the damage.
lack of affect. Mr. Sandusky is being accused of horrendous offenses and is cool and unphased by this. The ONLY way he could be unsurprised or unoffended by these allegations is if he had thought about them before.
So, is Jerry Sandusky innocent? Not likely. If you would like more information on liespotting, check out the post, "blessed are the clean of heart." Will football be tainted by this scandal for the foreseeable future? Yes. Will innocent men be looked at with hatred and suspicion? Probably. Is this a natural consequence of sin? Yes!
Jerry Sandusky is not someone who is persecuted for justice's sake. All the other coaches who are not guilty, but must forever change the way they are around kids are making those changes "for justice's sake." I hope public outrage does not wane before those changes are made.
3 Degrees
Sandusky outraged The Devil who tempted Jesus Christ, the boss of Blessed John Paul II.
Who are the clean of heart? Those who rejoice in the truth? Those who avoid lying? According to Pamela Meyer, we all lie. Now, while it's important to not be a rude person who just blurts out painful truths and covers up cruelty by saying, "I was just being truthful," it is also important to remember that real love "rejoices in the truth." If we are to serve God, He who is Love, we must rejoice in truth too. I saw this Ted Talk and it blew me away. I decided to make it the focus of this post on the Beatitude, "Blessed are the Clean of Heart."
Let's practice our new skills. I've embedded some videos of untruthful interactions and then tied the liars to Pope John Paul II. Enjoy!
repeating the question and otherwise delaying an answer
NO OUTRAGE
evasive answers, hesitation
"I have hugged them.. I have touched their legs." Attempts to minimize the damage.
lack of affect. Mr. Sandusky is being accused of horrendous offenses and is cool and unphased by this. The ONLY way he could be unsurprised or unoffended by these allegations is if he had thought about them before.
In this video: Duping delight (inappropriate smiling): This is especially evident when he defends waterboarding and "extraordinary rendition," (kidnapping of suspects).
Evasive answers (not answering the question but making unrelated statements that don't answer the question that was actually asked): "My job is to protect the American people" is never an answer to one of Mr. Lauer's questions. "Within the law" is another favorite of President Bush. Overly formal yet unspecific phrases such as "within the law" and "within the constitution" are used, but the actual laws and passages in the Constitution are never quoted. "We had lawyers look at it and say, Mr. President, this is lawful," this is buck-passing. Rather than use his own judgement or accept responsibility for a decision, he pawns the decision off on a nameless "lawyer."
Sporadic outrage: A person telling the truth is outraged at false accusation throughout an interview. They directly attack the arguments against them and work cooperatively with the interviewer to clear their name. The President does none of that. The most inflammatory accusation, that there is "a blurring of the line between ourselves and the people you are trying to protect us against."
Also, appreciate the physical mirroring that Matt Lauer does in mimicking the President's gestures and aggressive body language. This mirroring is common to all primate communication. It's great when you are in an argument with someone to mimic their body position. If you want them to stop crossing their arms and leaning back you must first cross your arms and lean back. After a while you can begin to open up your own posture and the other person, even when angry, will begin to unconsciously mimic you and open their own. Pretty soon you have helped the person be less aggressive and more open to your argument and you did it physically. I love watching Matt Lauer do this. It's really impressive.
One Degree!
George W. Bush and Blessed John Paul II
This video is rich with head tells. There are so many, I need to number them!
Varied blink rate. As A-Rod thinks of answers and considers his story, his brain is working overtime to come up with something plausible.
But somehow his brain didn't give his neck the memo, he says "No" but nods "yes" enthusiastically. This is seen throughout the interview.
shoulder shrugs during poorly constructed lies
Duping delight, the half-smiles toward the end of the interview are little smirks. He got away with it, at least at this point. Another interpretation is that this is a look of contempt. Why should drugs be such an issue? He's annoyed with the constant questioning.
Check out his later apology for using steroids and other drugs, lots of duping delight there!
4 Degrees
Alex Rodriguez was boyfriend to Cameron Diaz
Ms Diaz was admired by President Clinton
President Clinton Met John Paul II
Here we need to pay attention to the verbal cues for lies. He dodges the question. "I believe they have not been proved to be unsafe." He uses overly formal language such as "injurious" and distances himself from victims by using the word, "human". Smoking doesn't kill people, it "has not been proven to be no injurious to human health." Now that's linguistic gymnastics! Oh, and don't miss the little zinger at the end about women wanting smaller babies!
Connecting smoking to any pope is easy, smokers visit him all the time.
Here is another video from our beloved tobacco industry. Try not to laugh.
Hmmm, applesauce, really?! Let's see if our little friend is lying, shall we? Evasive language: "at concentrations which would be considered harmful," this doesn't answer the question.
Stiff upper body: "People don't eat much applesauce," is given as the reason people don't die from excess apple consumption. Again, try not to laugh. Duper's Delight: smiling as he says, "they're not eating that much." It's so ridiculous, he is even laughing. Lying eyes: Varied blink rate which is faster when formulating the lie and slower when telling it. Blink rate speeds up again when formulating the next lie. Subject tries not to blink and to look interviewer in the eye to check his believing the lie. Also, note the eyebrows raising when he says "everybody dies" and following. That look says, "you don't believe me, do you?" Shoulder shrugs: "Anything can be considered harmful," with the shoulder shrug he's actually saying, "look out, big load of bullshit coming your way!" He then says, "applesauce can be harmful." Look toward the end when he says "people who eat sugar die..." Here he is combining a variety of tells simultaneously.
Here we see Ruth Madoff, Bernie Madoff's partner in crime and her surviving son.
The son shakes his head and shrugs his shoulders, negating what he is saying at the beginning of the interview. He talks without affect about his parents' "attempted suicide," but his facial expressions and tone do not match the words he's using. There is a flash of contempt on the word "thinking" in "what were they thinking," his lip snears. He also smiles when recounting his questioning of his mother, "what were you thinking, I don't understand." I don't know if this son was a con artist like the rest of his family, but he may have been less involved in his family's business than his late brother.
Ruth Madoff claims to have attempted suicide and have been very depressed, but her language and her face tell a different story. "We decided to kill ourselves" at 59" she shakes her head, exactly as her son did in the previous clip. She uses a very perky tone that doesn't match the meaning of her words. Duper's delight, a lovely smile on "we took pills and woke up the next day." "It was so horrendous, what was happening." while flitting little smiles.
The Madoffs defrauded many famous people, among them the great Sandy Koufax. Mr. Koufax met President Obama. President Obama met Pope Benedict XVI who was one degree from Blessed John Paul II.
Oh Bill! Why must you lie? Again, so many, they need numbering. I got most of these points from Pamela Meyer's video that heads this post.
Overly formal language, "I did not" rather than "I didn't. And "sexual relations" instead of...
Qualifying language, "I want you to listen to me. I'm going to say this again."
Fist pounding and unusual body gestures for him
"that woman" distances himself from the victim or object of the lie, dehumanizing her and making Bill look less horrible
Overly adamant denial, "not a single time, never."
Now look for THE EXACT TELLS as Clinton on Richard Nixon. OMG, this is too much!
There is universal agreement that the major reason for World War II were the crippling reparations on Germany imposed at the close of World War I. These reparations not only brought Germany down, but the financial aftermath of the war plunged the world into The Great Depression. After the defeat of Germany, the world did not want to plant seeds for World War III. General George Marshall came up with a plan to rebuild Germany so that it would be an economic force and not a drain to the world. His proposal was known as The Marshall Plan.
Today Germany is the most solvent and solid of EU countries. Mercy was shown to Germany by the world, especially The United States. No matter the political stripes of Americans, there is a great pride that we have in The Marshall Plan. We answered evil with justice and mercy. The Nuremberg trials brought the guilty to justice. The Marshall Plan brought mercy.
There was no similar plan for Japan. As a result, Japan did not become an economic power until the 1970s. Now, we are drowning in Japanese cars and electronics. Their economy is booming and our manufacturing jobs are gone. If we had had a Marshall Plan for Japan, the 1950s would not have been so prosperous, but we would not have had the bubbles and bursts that have plagued us either. With a world that had been rebuilt earlier, it is quite possible that alternative energy sources would be discovered and replacing oil at this point. When mercy is extended, the people we ultimately save are ourselves. Kindness coats the world in balance and peace.
All atrocities are rooted in sin. We all sin. When we are children, our parents correct our behavior and point out our sins. They introduce us to God with their love and loving correction. Later, it is confession, friends, spouses, workmates, and neighbors who help to guide and direct us to righteousness. For countries, it is other countries and the international community. The only authorities that officially stand up to the United States and many other powerful countries are The United Nations, The Church, and The International Court at The Hague. The Church and The United Nations are both one-degree from Pope John Paul II.
Many have said, "Nobody can control the United States, the UN doesn't stand up to them" or "The church has no weapons, how can they effect change?" Without faith, these statements are perfectly true. Recent events make me fear for the future of my country. I see my president not standing behind the precedents of The Geneva Conventions, and the Nuremberg Articles. I see a rise of The Tea Party, a group claiming to be Christian that is steadfastly against love of neighbor and forgiveness. History tells us that "absolute power corrupts absolutely," and The United States has more absolute power with each passing day.
The International Court
In the face of their daunting task, members of The U.N., The Vatican, and The International Court persist in their mission of justice. Let's examine their struggles using a few examples of injustice in our world.
Water boarding is defined as torture by The United Nations. Pardoning or not prosecuting torturers because they were acting under orders of superiors is indefensible according to the Nuremberg articles. The particular act of pardoning for this reason is commonly known as The Eichmann Defense. Adolf Eichmann was a torturer under Hitler and used this defense at his Nuremberg trial for war crimes following World War II. If this defense was not acceptable then, it is not acceptable anytime! Here is a portion of Eichmann's trial in Israel in 1961.
In the light of news of torture by Americans, American religious leaders, lead by a Roman Catholic Cardinal, signed a statement denouncing torture. This was widely reported in THe New York Times and has been revisited by American bishops and other religious and lay faithful since.
Torturers using The Eichmann defense were pardoned by Obama, denounced by International law, denounced by The Church.
2 Degrees
Torture to International Court or The U.N. or American Cardinal who was elevated by John Paul II.
Rape is a horrible distortion of our bodies. The body is a gift from God, meant to be given to one another in love and service. The most intimate form of love is reserved for husbands and wives and involves genitals. When this same act is forced and becomes violent it is an abomination to the image of God. Just as it is an abomination to take a beautiful tree, which is given for fruit and shade, and use it to crucify God's Son, it is an abomination to take a body, which is an icon of Jesus Himself, and use it as a means of torture and violence. Yet rape in war and as a tool of torture and ethnic genocide is common in our world.
In Congo, rape has been a tool of war, victimizing hundreds of thousands of women, men, and children! Not only has an entire generation of child fighters been habituated to rape as soldiers, but they are also victims of rape when captured. The entire country is demoralized and bleeding from these atrocities.
Congolese man who works for
Catholic Relief Services
Catholic Relief Services is on the ground in Congo. They have rape crisis counselors working with victims as you read this. CRS will not abandon the people of Congo, but they could use your help. Why not donate or support a missionary. Also, write your Congressmen (Senate and House) and tell them you care about Congo and violence in Africa.
John Paul II, one of the popes to honor
Catholic Relief Services.
Why the hell do men and women spend millions to gain a job that pays $140? They are crooks! Last night's 60 Minutes episode exposes the corruption. They write the laws (definition of "legislature") and they control business and know information before it is public. That is why they sold stocks in September of 2008. That is why they bought stocks before the health care bill passed, before we knew that it would, in health insurance companies. They make millions from these trades. This is wrong. My congressman is chair of the House finance committee. I'm sickened by this! It doesn't surprise me, but it sickens me. How can we stop this!
They profited when the rest of us were losing our savings!
My own congressman, Barney Frank, is heavily invested in health care stocks. In his last report, he has accepted trips to The Virgin Islands on a private jet, and to Los Angeles at NBC's expense. The value of these trips are reported far below what they would have actually cost. Mr. Frank also did not lose money in the 2008 financial drop, he broke even, "wisely" having invested heavily in municipal bonds. I wonder why his portfolio was so well managed. Did he know something that we didn't? OF COURSE HE KNEW! He was chair of the House Finance Committee. He knew about the collapse several months before anyone else and acted accordingly. He sold his Washington residence just months before the housing collapse. He now lives in an apartment. This whole thing stinks to high heaven!
I used legistorm.com to find documents of financial disclosure for Congressman Frank. You can look up your own representatives. I urge you to write about what you find, write letters to the editor, and generally embarrass these politicians. Then, find people who will represent our interests. I think we should pay congressmen $1,000,000 per year, give them health care in keeping with comparable earners, and take away their ability to flout the laws we are supposed to abide by.
4 Shameful Degrees
Congress imitating Judas who betrayed Jesus to Peter to The Popes
As I write this post, Steve Jobs has recently died. By all accounts, he is an acceptional human being. He is missed and he is an example of good corporate leadership and inspiration. Jobs saw death as a great gift for a well-lived life. Perhaps without death we cannot truly know joy.
Those who die a good death give us the love and the tools to live our life well. Please take this day and listen and enjoy those who surround you. The joys you experience with them today are the comfort they give you and the comfort you give them.
In this hysterical satire we link two degrees to John Paul II. Embedding has been disabled, so please take 4 minutes to click and enjoy. Fantastic! Humor is often a great comfort to those who are mourning.
3 Degrees
Steve Jobs to MadTv to George Bush to Pope John Paul II
h Arab Spring was a phenomenon this year when oppressive Middle Eastern regimes were peacefully overturned, one after the other. Now, millions of Arabs are peacefully discussing and deliberating their futures and setting the stage for a peaceful world for their children and grand children.
An idea vs an army
Wait a minute! Aren't Arabs supposed to be uneducated, war-mongering, terrorists? How could such an Arab Spring be possible? Isn't that kind of peace against the nature of such barbarians?
We've been lied to! Many of those lies are lies of omission! Arabs are not what they've been made out to be. Can one assume that Americans are murderers, psychopaths, and godless materialists? Certainly not, yet the majority of school shooters, legendary serial killers, and celebrities are! Just as we cannot be know through our wacko or hedonistic citizens, so to Arabs cannot. Yes, those who attacked us on 9/11 were Arab, but they were not a representative sample.
The vast majority of Arabs are meekly demonstrating and claiming their God-given freedom. Blessed are they, for they ARE inheriting their lands at long last! A lone voice, that of Julia Bacha is crying in the wilderness. She is hoping that someone will listen. Let's take fewer than 10 minutes to hear her speak.
Queen Noor of Jordan (tall in a light blue gown) with Julia Bacha
at the 2009 Dubai film festival
Queen Noor has been acquainted with many first-degreers. Among them...
Bono
and
Nelson Mandela
let's see
3 Degrees
Julia Bacha to Queen Noor to Bono to Pope John Paul II
or
Julia Bacha to Queen Noor to Nelson Mandela to Pope John Paul II
