Monthly Archives: November 2010
Easy Call: Wikileaks Is Naive, Unethical, and Dangerous
If you see this guy, tackle him, sit on him, make a citizen’s arrest and wait for the Feds to arrive. At this point, that is about the best we can do. Continue reading
Heeding the Christmas Season Ethics Alarms
It is hard, very hard, to think about doing the right thing every day, all year long. Having one season that focuses our attention, through music, stories, movies, literature, traditions and memories, on being the best we can be to everyone is a gift to civilization and the species. Let’s not let it slip away, and become an ugly time that brings out our basest instincts. Continue reading
Self-Restraint in Congress: Great Idea, Little Hope
Is Congress capable of exercising discipline and self-restraint? It will have to, in everything from avoiding partisan bickering and pay-back to cutting dispensable programs with loud constituencies, if the government is to have any chance of reducing the deficit and putting the nation back on the road to fiscal responsibility. We can hope, but the signs are not encouraging. Continue reading
Filed under Government & Politics, Leadership, Popular Culture, U.S. Society
Ethics and Freeing the Unjustly Convicted: A Utilitarian Controversy in Illinois
Northwestern University journalism professor David Protess and his student reporters have been carrying out a heroic and aggressive project aimed at rescuing innocent residents of Illinois’s death row. It was Protess’s Medill Innocence Project that played a major role in … Continue reading
The Kardashian Kard Saga: Proof That We Are Doomed?
We have a credit card that really is a financial trap, being hawked by a trio of girls known for irresponsible behavior to parents and teens who are so devoid of sense and values that they regard the Kardashians as credible advocates…being criticized by a state attorney general who just got elected to the U.S. Senate despite repeatedly lying about his Vietnam War service. Continue reading
Sarah Palin Blows the Whistle On A Classic Media Bias Trick
Whatever Sarah Palin’s flaws, being a patsy and a passive victim are not among them. Good for her, to finally blow the whistle on a despicable journalistic practice. Continue reading
Filed under Government & Politics, Journalism & Media, Leadership, The Internet
When the “Everybody Does It” Excuse Works: Police Dog Cruelty in North Carolina
“Everybody does it” does not make unethical conduct ethical, but it is a legitimate defense when the “everybody” who “does it” tried to take your job away for doing the same thing. The judge didn’t say that the abuse was right. He said that it was unfair to fire an abuser from an animal abusing organization for abusing animals. Continue reading
Filed under Animals, Ethics Dunces, Government & Politics, Law & Law Enforcement, Professions, Workplace
Be Thankful Tom DeLay Is Going To Jail
In the end, DeLay’s methods did not work. Though the contagion he helped spread is still with us in the leadership of both parties, a nice long jail sentence, which DeLay now faces, often has the effect of a good slap in the face. Tom DeLay is no longer a role model, but an example of what happens to unethical leaders. We should all be thankful for that. Continue reading
Bret Favre, Meet Derek, LeBron, and Tiger
The latest addition to the pantheon of fallen idols is Bret Favre, the star NFL quarterback now suffering through the humiliating final season that was more or less guaranteed by his inability to retire while he could still pick up a football. Continue reading
Filed under U.S. Society
