It's hard to believe how the span of one generation can show such a marked decline in the integrity and character of our country especially its leaders both in government, academia and life. Forty years ago, we would never see the disrespect and lack of ethics proudly touted about in today's society. What in the world is happening? If you ask me, I think the world has lost its bloody mind.

Even 10 years ago, I would have disagreed with anyone who stated that America was weak and its resolve is compromised. Today, I cannot honestly say that. The lack of patriotism in this country is unreal and at levels never before seen, but who can blame the common people for their lack of resolve when our leaders shamelessly tout their hypocrisy and condescension on their sleeve.What happened to standing up for freedom and this country? We have hundreds of thousands of soldiers standing on enemy lines to defend this country and its principles as well as millions of dead patriots who sacrificed their lives for the principles embodied in the founding documents of this nation. And how do we repay them for their devotion to freedom?We act like spoiled brats. If one needs examples they abound. We have a President who has spent the last three years apologizing for America, for his country. He ridicules our closest allies and appeases our enemies. Just this week, he sided with France against Israel. With France! France is a nation that we have bailed out at least three times in the last hundred years. We died to free the French in World War II. We fought to protect their country in World War I. And let's not forget Vietnam. They are the ones who dragged us into that morass and left us holding the bag. They refused to give us airspace during military operations and now they have alienated Israel with our President empathizing with Sarkozy's statements about Prime Minister Netanyahu being a liar stating "I have to work with him every day."Next we have protesters who claim they are occupying major cities to protest the wealth of the alleged one percent claiming to be the other ninety nine percent. Shall we discuss hypocrisy here? These people are rife with cell phones and laptops and exploiting technologies created by the wealthy so-called one percent in their games. They selectively demonize chosen individuals whom they characterize as being part of that one percent, yet somehow their biggest heroes such as Michael Moore, Susan Sarandon and others are part of the very one-percent they are against, but they are welcomed as heroes to these people. What am I missing here?While we are discussing double standards, the Herman Cain controversy is just one more large mountain in the road of feigned indignation. It amazes me that we can elect as President a man who made a habit of harassing and sexually compromising women, who can lie under oath to a grand jury and be re-elected to office even after several women came forward with far more proof than what has been produced against Cain and that was okay.Cain, a right wing conservative is being hammered in the media with baseless allegations of the worst kind for a candidate. He is being beaten with sexual harassment allegations, first from anonymous accusers and when that didn't seem to do the job, they moved on to finding people willing to stand up and say anything to try to get it to stick and destroy his candidacy. He is to be admired for sticking to his guns and I hope for once we have a person who has the integrity he claims. Only time will prove whether Cain is unique or the typical Clintonesque politician.Even worse than Cain's predicament is the unhappy circumstances in Happy Valley. Thanks to some spineless administrators and a lack of ethics spread around, an alleged child predator Jerry Sandusky, once a coach at legend Joe Paterno's right hand has managed to tear apart the lives of at least a score of young men while administration officials did nothing. This is reprehensible on the surface but what makes it even more sickening is knowing how many people knew what this destroyer of innocence was doing and did nothing to stop it.Of all the falls from grace I mentioned, this last one is by far the worst. How can anyone stand there and watch a grown man assaulting a child in a shower and decide the best they could do is report him. I may have gotten my butt kicked but I could not in good conscience allow something like that to happen unchecked. He would have been in a heap on the floor of that shower and then I would have called the police.Many of us have attended college and are aware that campus security for the most part is a joke when it comes to real problems. For anyone to have placed this in the hands of the administration to handle without reporting it to the police is reprehensible. Campus security is for stopping trespassing and writing parking tickets, not for felony investigations. Reporting this to the administration and then shrugging your shoulders and turning away is not an appropriate response when an adult is endangering a child especially upon realizing the administration is as uncaring about it as this one was.Once that is learned, the next call should have gone to the police and law enforcement officials. How many more children were hurt because for the last ten years this phone call wasn't made. Shame, shame for tarnishing the prestigious reputation of Penn State.All this and the full moon at this writing is still to come. Let's hope next week is more positiveTil next time…