today’s news and information gleanings from here and there! 

• Today’s Weather! 
• Today in History!
• Traffic Cam Rts. 30 & 441
• The Official Time! – Population Clock (U.S. and World)

Quote for today… “The most saddening finding by the Special Investigative Counsel is the total and consistent disregard by the most senior leaders at Penn State for the safety and welfare of Sandusky’s child victims… .” – From the executive summary of the Penn State Freeh Report

• Leadership without ethics. The Freeh Report is the latest and the most dramatic instance of institutional “head-turning” – “An institutional Code of Ethics  helps employees practice fair and respectful treatment of clients by defining clear standards of ethical behavior that they must uphold. A written Code does not ensure ethical conduct, but it is the first step toward creating an ethical organizational culture. In other words, establishing high standards of ethical employee behavior is a two-part process; first, the institution defines standards of behavior, and second, those standards are brought to life throughout the institution.” Any institution including government! See this Columbia news, views & reviews article.
  

• “Barbara Funk wishes she could take back her words. Funk, of Columbia, wrote a letter to the editor in March supporting the late Joe Paterno, who she felt was bearing an unfair share of blame in the Penn State sex abuse scandal.” – Lancaster Intelligencer Journal/New Era

• This is not the way to be on Page One of almost every newspaper in Pennsylvania! – Newseum.org

• Harrisburg’s Patriot-News editorial team first wrote about the Penn State drama … the coverage remains superior. – Harrisburg Patriot-News

• What a deal … and “no bad profanity” except for the profanity of fact that you don’t know who’s sponsoring this bus trip!!! – Craigslist [NOTE: A reader lets us know that when the reader called the number in the ad; the person answering the phone said, “all booked up!” Well, as Gomer would say, “Gollee … surprise, surprise!” The reader also said, the deal “sounded fishy.”] Know the business; know the person to whom you give money!

• May credit card debt surges: “What in the heck happened in May that made more Americans charge purchases?” – Bankrate.com

• Third Friday the 13th! – Lancaster Intelligencer Journal/New Era

• Robert Reich: “The Wall Street Scandal of All Scandals– Just when you thought Wall Street couldn’t sink any lower – when its myriad abuses of public trust have already spread a miasma of cynicism over the entire economic system, giving birth to Tea Partiers and Occupiers and all manner of conspiracy theories; when its excesses have already wrought havoc with the lives of millions of Americans, causing taxpayers to shell out billions (of which only a portion has been repaid) even as its top executives are back to making more money than ever; when its vast political power (via campaign contributions) has already eviscerated much of the Dodd-Frank law that was supposed to rein it in, including the so-called “Volker” Rule that was sold as a milder version of the old Glass-Steagall Act that used to separate investment from commercial banking – yes, just when you thought the Street had hit bottom, an even deeper level of public-be-damned greed and corruption is revealed.Sit down and hold on to your chair.

• “Want lower property taxes? You can appeal — many do — but results aren’t guaranteed” – York Daily Record

• “With increasing complaints from concerned beach-goers about cigarette butts on the beaches, Terry Brady, the deputy press secretary for the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, said the department is considering a trial smoking ban for some state parks.” – Harrisburg Patriot-News