I am officially mint-green with envy: Daniel Engber, who writes “The Explainer” column over at Slate, has written an informative, off-beat, thought-provoking column on just the sort of ethical/legal hypothetical I adore. The topic: If a Siamese twin commits murder, does his brother get punished too?
He does a terrific job. his essay also reminded me of a classic “Tales from the Crypt” episode involving a fictional pair of conjoined twins that one could imagine getting into such a dilemma.
Publicly apologizing for conduct that wasn’t wrong creates a cultural misconception that such conduct is wrong. This confuses and misleads everyone. It would be nice, not to mention responsible and courageous, for public figures who find themselves being attacked by public opinion mobs for “offending” the wrong person or group, to demand some precision regarding their so-called offense before begging for forgiveness.
This is obviously too much to expect from politicians, perhaps because they seem to have such a difficult time figuring out the difference between right and wrong in the best of circumstances. Rep. Joe “You lie!” Wilson apologized, but made it clear that he was proud of what he did, making his apology a formality rather than a genuine expression of regret. Now Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid has quickly apologized for private comments he made about Barack Obama, reported in a new campaign ’08 backroom gossip book by journalists Mark Halperin and John Heilemann. Because the reporting of Reid’s comments has resulted in his being accused of racism, and because Reid himself has been quick to accuse others of racism when it suited his purposes, the apology was inevitable. It also has written another incomprehensible definition into Washington’s “Things Politicians Can’t Say” Code. Continue reading
It wasn’t George Bush, the Iraq War, John McCain or even the economy that made the GOP a minority party. It was arrogance, corruption and sliminess. The smug Machiavellian tactics of Tom DeLay; the just-look-the-other-way tolerance for the Mark Foleys and the Duke Cunninghams; the hypocrisy of Bill Frist and Ralph Reed; the widespread affection for crooked lobbyists like Jack Abramoff; the Bizarro World ethics of Dick Cheney and Alberto Gonzalez…the bottom line was that you just couldn’t trust these people not to lie, sell favors, abuse their power, or dive head first into conflicts of interest. Continue reading
President Obama is re-scheduling his State of the Union message to avoid preempting of the premiere of “Lost,” the cult sci-fi series that will be starting its final season.
Let me say that again so it sinks in: President Obama is re-scheduling his State of the Union message to avoid preempting of the premiere of “Lost.”
What rationalizations does a computer company use to justify the development of a new dashboard device that is certain to cause accidents and take lives? The same ones, I suspect, that are employed by auto manufacturers to justify selling cars with the feature. Continue reading
A disturbing aspect of the Titanic disaster was that most of the lifeboats refused to pick up survivors in the water, the boat leaders fearing that the desperate swimmers would swamp the boats. I look on this sad incident as illustrating the problem of helping people in desperate need. How much risk and hardship should a potential rescuer be ready and willing to endure? Continue reading
The New York Dept. of Health and Mental Hygiene, has a new brochure out for heroin addicts. It’s goal: help them break the law, become addicted, abandon their responsibilities and eventually kill themselves as safely as possible.
I’m not kidding. Continue reading
Some diverse ethics observations while living the lonely existence of a traveling ethics trainer… Continue reading
Franklin D. Roosevelt’s reputation is at an all-time high these days, thanks to reflections on his handling of The Great Depression prompted by our current financial mess. But looking at F.D.R.’s record risks ethics whiplash, as a new book again reminds us. Continue reading
PETA has a new poster out, announcing with approval that Carrie Underwood, Tyra Banks, Oprah Winfrey and the First Lady are “among the most stylish and influential women in America,” and “they all refuse to wear real fur.” Continue reading
Ethics Alarms 