I decided it was time to finally see “C.H.U.D.,” the cult 1980s horror movie about mutant cannibals running around under Manhattan. What horrified me most was a conversation between the film’s hero, played by John Heard (he was Kevin’s father in the “Home Alone’ films) and his girl friend, When she announces that she is pregnant with his child, he asks, with all the emotion of someone asking if she plans on getting her nails done, “Well, do you want to keep it?” She replies, “Do you want me to?,” and he literally shrugs. “Hey, it’s up to you: your body and all. I have no say in the matter,” he says disinterestedly. She then says, “If I wanted to have it, would you be want to have it then?” And he lights up with a smile and says, “YES!” Then they embrace, because they are going to have a baby. The completely off-hand manner in which these two characters discuss whether an existing human being in a vulnerable state will live or die is chilling, or should be. It represents the casual denial of reality by everyone involved, and, of course, the audience as well, that the Roe v. Wade decision cultivated.

1. St. Joan is non-binery now. Should you care? The Globe Theatre in London, will open their production of “I, Joan” on August 25 in which the historical figure and Catholic saint will be portrayed as a non-binary character who uses they/them pronouns. Joan is certainly an androgynous figure, so it makes as much sense to pull this stunt with her, ah, “them” as with anyone, I guess. I’m seeing a lot of conservative blogs fulminating about it. Here’s Joan, by the way:

There can be several ways to justify this. One is if there is a spectacular actress/actor/whatsis who can make the interpretation work. Another is to get publicity, sell tickets, and make enough money to help the company thrive. I don’t care if Joan of Arc is played as an anteater if it results in good theater: a non-binary Joan is less of stretch than a Hispanic Alexander Hamilton, and that worked out pretty well. Continue reading →

I’m not sure “botch” is the right word; I don’t know what word to use. All I know for certain that Fargo’s School Board is getting a lot of publicity for adding one more chunk of division to nation that needs to start letting its self-inflicted wounds heal instead of tearing at them constantly

Once, in simpler and more sane times, what the Fargo School Board chose to do and say before their meetings wouldn’t even be news. In fact, I’d like to know who thought this should be news. If it wasn’t reported as significant, it wouldn’t be significant. If a school board member engages in dumb virtue-signaling in the forest and nobody hears it, does it matter? A conundrum for the ages. What did happen is this…

In February, a motion to have the Pledge recited at meetings, made by board member David Paulson, died for a lack of a motion for a second. Raised again at the March board meeting, it passed. Thus the Pledge…

“I pledge allegiance to the Flag of the United States of America, and to the Republic for which it stands one Nation, under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.”

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Ah, weekends in August. Except for a handful of much appreciated ethics enthusiasts, comments are sparse, EA traffic is weak, and as I prepare these posts while deadlines for paying ethics clients near, I find myself once again wondering if this is a wise use of my time, energy, and emotional resolve. Fortunately I am not prey to depression, unlike my mother, many of my friends, Abe Lincoln, Teddy Roosevelt, and Winston Churchill, but it doesn’t help that the Red Sox really stink this season…

1. Retirement ethics, or, if you prefer, “stupid athlete retirement tricks.” If you retire, dammit, retire. It is not a coincidence that the two most famous un-retirements were authored by two of the biggest jerks in Boston sports history, Roger Clemens and Tom Brady. But attention must be paid to Tyson Fury, one of the mostly unknown heavyweight boxing champions. (Boy, did that sport crash quickly! If you remember when heavyweight boxing matches were big deals and the results were front page news, you must be at least 40), announced his retirement from pugilism in April after his win against challenger Dillian Whyte to retain his heavyweight crown and stay undefeated. Fury had said for weeks that Whyte would be his final opponent. Then, last week, the WBC heavyweight championship announced he was returning to boxing. Three days later, Fury announced he was retiring again.

At least he hadn’t toured the country picking up expensive retirement gifts like Roger Clemens.

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Mickey Mantle died on August 13, 1995. The baseball icon who may have been the most gifted player of all time started teaching ethics lessons after his career had ended as he began belatedly learning them himself. Believing that he would die young (both his father and an uncle had perished of illness in their 40s), Mantle hurtled through his prime drunk, selfish, often mean, unfaithful to his wife and promiscuous, determined to live fast and leave a good-looking corpse. Then, as he said ruefully later, he found himself entering his 50s an alcoholic, breaking down physically, and ashamed of how he had treated fans, family and friends. Mantle resolved to make amends, but was stalled in his efforts by a failing liver, then embarrassed when his name popped up quickly at the top of the transplant waiting list. Doctors swore no special favors had been granted to the idol of millions, but nobody believed it. Cancer claimed Mickey almost immediately after he had his new liver. He had waited too long to realize the importance of caring about others.

The most touching story about Mantle in his latter years was one he told about meeting a stranger who explained to him passionately and with tears in his eyes how much “Number 7” had meant to him growing up. Mantle said that he teared up too, because for the first time in his life it hit him that he had an obligation to the people who loved and cared about him.  He said he had always thought it was crazy that anyone would admire someone like him, and suddenly he understood that trying to live up the idealized image so many held of Mickey Mantle was a crucial part of his legacy, and what sports idols must do to keep ideals alive.

1. He needs to study Mickey Mantle...One of today’s most gifted young baseball stars, San Diego Padres phenom Fernando Tatis Jr.,  tested positive for Clostebol, a banned performance-enhancing substance. He’s been suspended for 80 games without pay, effective immediately. Tatis had already missed the first part of the season because of injuries he sustained in a motorcycle accident in the off-season, and this came after an injury-marred 2021 campaign.  The Padres General Manager’s comments on the news might have been made about Mantle in his playing days:

“Over the course of the last six or seven months, I think (trust has) been something that we haven’t really been able to have. I think we’re hoping that from the off season to now, that there would be some maturity. And obviously with the news today, it’s more of a pattern and something we’ve got to dig a little bit more into. I’m sure he’s very disappointed, but at the end of the day, it’s one thing to say it. You have to start by showing it with your actions.”

It is not a promising sign that Tatis claims that he took the banned steroid accidentally.

2. This never occurred to me! U.S. District Judge Thomas Ludington held this week that it is unconstitutional for police in Saginaw, Michigan to chalk automobile tires in order to enforce parking violations. The judge held that the practice, while “relatively harmless,” is still a violation of the Fourth Amendment rights against unreasonable searches. “No reasonable person would argue that something as trivial and transitory as chalk on a tire offends a reasonable expectation of privacy. But the Fourth Amendment protects more than those expectations that society deems reasonable,” Ludington said. Then he decreed that the city should pay out one dollar in damages to all 4,800 Saginaw drivers who had paid $15-$30 fines after being “chalked.” Continue reading →