John Engler and Me
Long-time Michiganders, especially those of a certain age, have probably seen the latest news blast about our hefty ex-governor, John Engler. No, not the incident where he, in his role as Interim President of Michigan State University, accused sexual predator Larry Nassar’s victims of ‘enjoying the spotlight.’ And not the story about Engler’s unauthorized offering one of those victims a quarter of a million dollars, later claiming he was engaging in a ‘philosophical discussion’ about how much money would satisfy them.
The latest on John Engler is his non-appearance at investigative interviews being conducted by Michigan’s Attorney General, about the Nassar affair. Engler has been claiming he’s out of town, but then turned up courtside at an MSU basketball game. The AG, Dana Nessel, sent a letter to the MSU Board President:
“We must lead from the top. The reluctance of the former interim president of the University to cooperatively participate in a law enforcement investigation into the largest sexual assault scandal in the history of higher education — yet happily sit court-side to watch the men’s basketball team on multiple occasions — speaks volumes about allegations of a culture of indifference on campus.”
Exactly. But Engler doesn’t see it that way.
Today, his lawyers sent Nessel a letter saying that nope, he’s not coming in for any interviews, unless and until Nessel recuses herself. Because she doesn’t like him. That’s right. Specifically—“You have prejudged Mr. Engler’s veracity and motives without ever talking to him. You have launched unfounded attacks and besmirched Mr. Engler…”
It goes on like this at some length, besmirching Ms. Nessel herself, calling her inexperienced and lacking integrity. Your typical heavyweight bullying and mansplaining.
I’m not worried about Dana Nessel, who seems to be pretty level-headed and courageous. But the re-emergence of John Engler has given me a chance to reminisce about the times I encountered—you might even say helped out and then got dumped on by– John Engler. It’s a long story, but it involves similar outsized bullying and setting up innocent people.
John Engler was Governor when I was Michigan Teacher of the Year, in 1993. And through a series of very unlikely circumstances…
REAR-SHARE-DISCUSS-LEARN more here – https://teacherinastrangeland.blog/2019/03/21/john-engler-and-me/
About
Nancy Flanagan is a retired music teacher living her personal lakeside dream in Cedar, Michigan. She is a National Board Certified Teacher and was named Michigan Teacher of the Year in 1993. She is an active musician. Flanagan has been blogging for 15 years, including a nine-year stint as ‘Teacher in a Strange Land’ @ Education Week. She splits her time between wondering how things got so messed up, and advocating for America’s best idea: a free, high-quality fully public education for every child.
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