Tag Archives: recklessness

Ethics Bob: You Were Right; the Kansas Republicans Are Dunces

Never overestimate the decency of Republicans. Continue reading

10 Comments

Filed under Character, Government & Politics

Let’s Be Clear: Kansas House Speaker Mike O’Neal Is A Disgrace, And He Must Resign

Kansas House Speaker Mike O’Neill is a blight on the political landscape. Continue reading

41 Comments

Filed under Citizenship, Etiquette and manners, Government & Politics, Leadership

Candidate for Dishonest Quote of the Year: Rep. Michele Bachmann

Michele Bachmann lies, and lies about lying. Can’t we ignore her now? Continue reading

8 Comments

Filed under Character, Government & Politics, Health and Medicine, Journalism & Media, Leadership

The Damage Incompetent Pundits Do: Criminal Defense Misconceptions

Myths that won’t die: guilty defendants can’t testify that they are innocent (they can) and lawyers can’t defend criminals they know are guilty (they must.) Continue reading

8 Comments

Filed under Government & Politics, Journalism & Media, Law & Law Enforcement, Professions, U.S. Society

A Tip For Victoria Liss—In Fact, Two: Read the Golden Rule, and Don’t Use The Internet For Revenge

Here’s to you, Victoria Liss! You set out to expose a cheapskate tipper to the bullies of cyberspace in a fit of excessive indignation, and instead victimized an innocent bystander, with the delicious result that the one humiliated was…you. Continue reading

26 Comments

Filed under Business & Commercial, Etiquette and manners, The Internet, U.S. Society

When Unethical Meets Stupid

Pointing laser pointers at landing jets: misdemeanor? Silly prank? Continue reading

3 Comments

Filed under Government & Politics, Law & Law Enforcement, Science & Technology, U.S. Society, War and the Military

NOW Do You Get It, Bachmann Fans?

As I knew and hopes she would, Rep. Bachmann finally demonstrated the tangible danger of her irresponsible contempt for facts, and showed what a disaster she would be in a job where more people took her seriously. Continue reading

26 Comments

Filed under Bioethics, Education, Health and Medicine, Incompetent Elected Officials, Journalism & Media, Law & Law Enforcement, Leadership, Research and Scholarship, U.S. Society

What’s the Matter With Paul Gust?

Obviously Ward could be fired for storing photos of nude women on a school laptop, which is a clear violation of school policy, especially after the nudes made a surprise appearance in a school presentation. The rest, however—searching for Miley Cyrus images? Having photos of (fully clothed) children? Fantasizing about sex in e-mails with a friend?—None of this is illegal or unethical. Continue reading

13 Comments

Filed under Arts & Entertainment, Education, Gender and Sex, Law & Law Enforcement, Professions, The Internet

The Shannon Stone Tragedy Ethics Quiz, Part II

Many commenters were upset with me for characterizing the tragic death of Shannon Stone, who fell to his death while trying to catch a ball during a Texas Rangers game, as the result of his own bad judgment, suggesting that I was impugning the character of a dead man. (I wasn’t.) That reaction sparks the second Ethics Alarms quiz question relating to the incident. Continue reading

8 Comments

Filed under Journalism & Media, Professions, Quizzes, Sports

Ethics Quiz: Should Shannon Stone’s Family Sue the Texas Rangers?

One Thursday, a 39-year-old firefighter named Shannon Stone leaned over a stadium railing at a Texas Rangers game to catch a ball flipped into the stands by Ranger outfielder Josh Hamilton. Stone’s son, 6-year old Cooper, was a big Hamilton fan, and the devoted father made an extra effort, catching the ball but falling over the railing down to the concrete 20 feet below. He went into cardiac arrest on the way to the hospital, and died.

The railing where Stone fell is 33 inches, seven inches more that the legally required 26 inches. Is it dangerous? Well, it was dangerous this time. Your Ethics Quiz: Should the Stone family sue the Rangers? Continue reading

31 Comments

Filed under Arts & Entertainment, Business & Commercial, Family, Journalism & Media, Law & Law Enforcement, Sports, U.S. Society