Condign justice!
But I digress. Please enter your most trenchant thoughts on the state of ethics below. As usual, there is a lot going on…
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Ethics Alarms 
I find this whole Ilhan Omar saga fascinating. Her husband’s winery shut its doors two weeks ago, coincidentally just after the House sought documents from her hubby. Damn. I was looking for a good pinot noir:
https://www.newsweek.com/ilhan-omar-husband-winery-terminated-after-financial-records-requested-11869744
Does she really – and I mean, REALLY – expect people to believe that her financial disclosures and recent amendment to them were simply because of a rounding error? She was on some podcast making the argument that she didn’t know what percentage her husband had in various businesses but even the podcaster wasn’t buying it.
But, right now, I am waiting for my case to be called on an eviction appeal in Dallas County, Texas. The tenant is on housing (her portion is $142 per month), Housing covers the rest. She appeared by phone (it’s a zoom hearing) and stated that she could keep driving because she was using her iPhone smart glasses. Tax dollars at work.
jvb
Seems to me to be prima facie evidence that the poor can get a photo ID. They have the funds and the smarts to do so
A Muslima who owns a winery? That is even more unlikely than the SPLC financing the KKK!
The irony is delicious, isn’t it?
jvb
Some professors at the college I work at do a “introduce yourself” discussion post. What’s your major, name, where do you see yourself headed, etc.
Many of them also tell students to state their pronouns in the introductions. This seems like a direct violation of free speech. I don’t know if this instruction is coming from above or on their own, but it seems to be broadcasting a political message and forcing students to agree with that message.
After the most recent post referencing the KBJ vs “the wise Latina” lowest aptitude competition, I realized that as one can remove the vowels from most English words and still read them, “cabbage” can be read out from KBJ.
Tom Steyer, who has a decent chance to become California’s next governor, calls ICE a criminal organization, and threatens to put all ICE agents in jail.
Tom Steyer is not the only politician who wants to persecute those who serve the country for doing their duty and following orders.
In Australia, Roberts-Smith, who is Australia’s most decorated living soldier with a Victoria Cross, is being charged him with war crimes (five counts of murder) related to his service in Afghanistan.
In the UK there are mass resignations in the SAS elite troops, as former and current soldiers believe Britain’s legal system is engaged in a witch hunt against troops who were sent to fight on behalf of the government. The departures include senior warrant officers, who are considered the backbone of the regiment, which is causing a major blow to operational capability. Former SAS commanders and military leaders have warned that the legal climate makes soldiers hesitant, risk-averse, and erodes morale.
If a soldier discharges their weapon, they are almost certainly going to get a knock at their door one day,” George Simm, a former regimental sergeant major of 22 SAS, told The Telegraph. “It feels like a betrayal and a break in the trust.”
https://www.foxnews.com/world/uks-elite-soldier-unit-faces-exodus-over-lawfare-fears-warning-sign-us-military
My impression is that this prosecutorial mindset is dangerous and wrong. A soldier or federal officer who out of patriotic duty chooses to serve his country should have a reasonable expectation that the country (including higher ups and the legal system) has his back for actions taken under order. As the examples show, this mindset affects multiple countries including UK, Australia, and the USA.
Steve Hilton has a good chance, too. He seems to be polling really well all across the state. It’s odd that the best candidate for California governor is a Brit and former advisor to David Cameron..
jvb
Environmental ethics. Specifically water contracts, pacts and compliance by states. There is a pipeline pumping water from the Oglala aquifer (ever heard of it? You should but likely haven’t because it’s under rural areas that cover Kansas, New Mexico, Texas, Colorado and Nebraska) and putting it across the state line to Kansas to comply with a water compact with Kansas, Colorado and Nebraska. I believe there is simply less water but the increased population in Colorado probably isn’t going to help. The aquifer is the kind that isn’t renewable, at least that’s what they say. Is it right to remove water for compliance purposes?
This article explains it better than I can.
https://coloradonewsline.com/2025/07/29/groundwater-mining-colorado-republican/#:~:text=Groundwater%20mining%20cannot%20be%20sustained%20far%20into,of%20the%20Republican%20River%20Basin%20of%20Colorado
Ag is the main economic driver of this area as well as western Kansas and Nebraska. To shut down wells is to risk the towns and the economic stability of the entire region. Particularly in the Sandhills region. That’s happened, not in this way. The farmers sold their water rights to the city and the entire county is practically a ghost town.
https://5280.com/high-dry/
This is the issue with rural vs urban. You don’t know what you don’t know. Nearly everything I comment about in these forums is likely a completely new topic that requires explanation and research to understand and few are that curious or have time.
Dang, that sounds scary.
From my recollections, water has historically been one of the major issues in the West. Totally draining an aquifer would be a catastrophe. And yes, I have heard of the Ogallala before.
My brother majored in limnology at Nebraska and worked for the state for decades. I wouldn’t be surprised if he studied the Ogalalla. He certainly studied a lot of Nebraska’s rivers and lakes.