Have The Patriots Lost Their Way

"The Patriot Way" has been the mantra that has been touted in New England over the last 10 years.  It exemplifies the business like atmosphere in which the New England Patriots conduct themselves on and off the field.  It is a higher standard to which the team and its staff puts on itself, it is a team first mentality that goes with success.  It has always been believed that if a player, troubled or not, found their way on the Patriots roster they could not help but succumb to "The Patriot Way".  It has always been believed that the Patriots would never associate with deeply troubled players, and if they did it was always perceived that those players were a low risk, high reward project for the team.

Patriot fans remember the drafting of Christian Peter in 1996.  A week later the team relinquished the rights to him because of his criminal past for violence against women.  The Patriots statement was that Peter's behavior was "incompatible with our organization's standards of acceptable conduct." That is the standard that New England Patriots had put on themselves and that is what the team and its fans have come to accept from "The Patriot Way".

I have to believe that "The Patriot Way" took somewhat of a hit this past week with the arrest of Patriots Tight End, Aaron Hernandez for the murder of Odin Lloyd of Dorchester.  How could this happen to a New England Patriots player?  When the story first broke, every Patriot fan could not help to think that there is no way this could happen to a player on our beloved team because it just does not happen with the Patriots.  As the investigation continued and the subsequent arrest of Hernandez came out, it became reality.  To the Patriots credit they cut ties and released Hernandez before the charge of murder was made public.

This has been a topic of conversation among many sports talk radio hosts and columnists for the past week.  It begs the question, is "The Patriot Way" a real thing or have the Patriots been hitting on twenty and drawing aces all these years.  I have to believe it is a little bit of both.  Up until the Patriots won a Super Bowl "The Patriot Way" was a real thing.  Incidents with players and the law were few and far between and they were always handled by the organization appropriately.  Then came the trade for embattled Cincinnati Bengals running back Corey Dillon.  Dillon also had charges of abuse against women for allegedly choking his wife in a domestic dispute.  That is the first instance of the Patriots contradicting themselves.  Dillon's behavior was not incompatible with the organizations standard of acceptable conduct because he was a Pro-Bowl running back that filled a desperate need for the Patriots.

Then there was the trade for Randy Moss, Albert Haynesworth, Chad Johnson and the return of wide receiver Donte' Stallworth.  All of these were designed to be pet projects and their presence in New England were uneventful but filled with skepticism.  The fan based cheered for them but were very protective of "The Patriot Way", thus the skepticism.  So drug charges, assault, child support and vehicular homicide were also acceptable conduct set forth by the Patriots?

Rich Garven of Telegram & Gazette stated in his column on Sunday that "The Patriot Way" was more reflective of what the players do on the field and not so much off.  With all due respect to Mr. Garven but the debate on "The Patriot Way" would not be going on if it did not include off the field incidents, and an incident such as the Hernandez one tarnishes that brand.  That is why the Patriots immediately released Hernandez upon learning of the charges.  That is why the team is offering to fans who own Hernandez #81 jersey a chance to trade it in for a new one at no charge. Because they are trying to restore the tarnish caused by Hernandez.

Have the Patriots lost their way?  I don't think so.  However, I most likely will never say that the Patriots would never sign a certain type of player because they don't fit the Patriot mold.  That's not fair to the Patriots but it is the reality of professional football.  The players feel untouchable and think they can do whatever they want.  Since the Super Bowl in February, twenty seven NFL players have been arrested for various crimes.  On the same day that Hernandez was charged with murder, Cleveland Browns rookie Ausar Walcott was charged with attempted murder.  Let's not forget Javon Belcher who killed his girlfriend, then killed himself.

There is a vetting issue in the NFL and when you are dealing with a multi-billion dollar business there shouldn't be.  David Steele of the Sporting News wrote that the league should fine teams when their players are arrested and charged with serious crimes.  The Patriots are going to lose $12 million because of Aaron Hernandez, which is enough of a fine.  The owners of the teams just need to be better about giving out their money to sociopaths such as FORMER Patriot Aaron Hernandez.

R.I.P. Odin Lloyd

3D

If you don't take it from me, ask my wife

Rambling Time

It has been almost eight months since I have done one of my ramblings.  For some of you that read my blog you may be thinking that all my posts are ramblings.  There have been some interesting things going on in the city, state and country and I figured I would give my two cents worth.  I usually comment on ten stories, but I will cut it down to five.  So let's get started.

No Slots in Worcester - Only part of me is disappointed in this because the hole that sits in Kelly Square will continue to be there.  I said before that I was neither for nor against slots until I saw what the proposed host agreement would be.  Since both sides walked away from the negotiations, there is nothing for me to be disappointed about.  I thought the City Council handled this very well, they did not succumb to outside pressure and they tried to make a go for it.  No harm, no foul.  It didn't work out, so let's move on.  Now what to do with that land?  I beg, no housing, we don't need it.  

Car Jack This! - How about the carjacker that carjacked an unmarked police car, with a Worcester Police Officer in it.  The Darwinist in me had a very good chuckle over this.  I am glad that the officer was not injured seriously and was able to apprehend the dumb suspect.  However, doesn't everybody love a dumb criminal caught story every now and then?  That it happened in Worcester makes it that much more enjoyable.

Sick the Media - I must admit that I think the media can be demanding and pushy sometimes when trying to get an interview, but if you don't want to talk to them wouldn't a simple "no comment" or send a family member out to keep them at bay.  Don't do what a lady in Providence did last week by throwing glass, swinging a bat and then for a finale letting loose her pit-bull on the female reporter.  I understand that the woman was upset and didn't want to talk, but now she is facing charges for her outrage.  A simple "No Comment" would have gone a long way.

Really? - An Austin company is selling lollipops made out of breast milk.  I don't want to say this is disgusting because there are worse delicacies out there.  But what happens if this business makes a go of it?  How many women will need to be on the payroll, and to keep costs down will this get outsourced to a third world country and pump women, and possibly young girls, with hormones so they can produce milk to meet demand?  PETA tried to petition Ben and Jerry's to use breast milk instead of cow's milk, in PETA's eyes humans are more expendable than animals.

I'm Sorry I Slapped Your Son - A South Carolina woman was arrested last week when she went to her son's school after learning that her son had been suspended.  When she arrived to the main office she slapped a boy whom she thought was her son.  However, the boy she slapped was not hers; he was just waiting to be picked up because he was not feeling well.  This woman obviously suffers from face blindness.  How does she not know the boy was not her son?  There are many things wrong with this story but the fact that the mother's first inclination was to hit should be the first thing addressed.  I hope she gets the help she needs.

Bonus: Congratulations! - Over the past few weeks many high schools and colleges have been having their commencement activities.  To the graduates out there I can only offer the same advice that Mary Schmich offered in an article in 1997.  "Wear Sunscreen! If I could offer you only one tip for the future, sunscreen would be it. The long-term benefits of sunscreen have been proved by scientists, whereas the rest of my advice has no basis more reliable than my own meandering experience."  Congratulations and God Bless!

3D

If you don't take it from me, ask my wife

It's Finally Time

Last week, residents of Massachusetts found out that they are worth more dead than unemployed in the Commonwealth.  An audit of the Department of Transitional Assistance (DTA) released by State Auditor Suzzanne Bump found a significant amount of irregularities within the department that is costing taxpayers millions of dollars.  The cries for change of the state's welfare system are beginning to ring loud, and this time I don't think it can be ignored.  It remains to be seen if the rumbles from the state house are calls for action or just noise to pacify the constituents.

If you have not heard by now the State Auditor’s office in their investigation of the DTA found that $2.4 million was paid to people on assistance that had been dead for at least six months.  Also discovered in that audit was $120,000 paid to people who began to receive benefits, after they were dead.  How did they apply?  This is what made the news and created the cries for change, rightly so, but there were other issues with this audit that should not only result in reform but people losing their jobs.Oversights like that can happen; I get that, but $27 million worth?  To make matters worse, in order to correct this mistake by the DTA, they paid their employees $3.4 million in overtime.  How do I get one of those jobs?  Make a mistake then get paid more to fix it, living the dream.

The most common complaint of the welfare system in Massachusetts is that there are no boundaries or restrictions of what the assistance is used for.  This too was brought to light in the audit and no it was not the use of Electronic Benefits Transfer (EBT) cards at Tattoo Parlors or Liquor Stores, it was the amount of money being accessed out of state.  Apparently using Massachusetts EBT cards out of state is not illegal.  The top cities where the monies were being accessed were Myrtle Beach, Orlando and Las Vegas.  Hmmmmm, sun, fun and gambling on the taxpayers’ dime.  They must be getting the essentials while at Disney World.

So Massachusetts, now is it time for reform?  The system has been broken for so long that it cannot be fixed without it being completely gutted.  Do our elected leaders have the intestinal fortitude to do this?  The problem is that the recipients are not using the DTA for "assistance"; they are using it for a source of income.  The abuse of the system is outrageous and it's a slap in the face to the taxpayers of Massachusetts.  How is it that someone who works twenty years for a company and loses his job gets twenty six weeks of assistance?  But someone who has never worked, and has no intention of finding a job gets permanent assistance?  I think it should be the same, don't you?

I want to believe that these findings by the auditor are the exception rather than the rule, but these numbers are staggering and they have been ongoing.  I don't doubt that there are people that need the DTA, but the agency should not be used as a source of income.  When asked about these finding by the state auditor Gov. Deval Patrick essentially said that he did not believe the report.  Talk about being part of the problem and not part of the solution.

If there is genuine outrage over this audit on Beacon Hill as the politicians claim then reform now; reform to a point that the "Welfarer"-in-Chief of Massachusetts cannot veto.  EBT cards were created to help; the DTA was created to help, so let's reform this program and this department so that they are doing just that.  Itemize expenses so each month rent, utilities and transportation costs are automatically paid from their account and deducted.  Whatever is left over can go on an EBTcard with the recipients picture on it.  EBT cards should only be accepted at grocery stores and pharmacies.  If there is a way to do it, make sure the transactions happen in Massachusetts and not the U.S. Virgin Islands, as the audit reported.

It is finally time to make these reforms.  Come on Massachusetts, let's make them.

3D

If you don't take it from me, ask my wife