True, Navarro’s statement on “The View” that Woodrow Wilson pardoned an imaginary son-in-law named “Hunter de Butts” was funnier than Charles P. Pierce’s declaration in Esquire that President George H.W. Bush pardoned his son Neil. But Navarro’s made-up precedent for Hunter Biden’s sweeping pardon by his father was only stated by a member of “The View’s” panel of opinionated dolts who has no credibility with anyone whose IQ tops that of the average sea sponge. “Esquire” is supposed to be at least somewhat more reliable and professional.

Pierce, a frequent contributor to the magazine and the author of 2009’s “Idiot America: How Stupidity Became a Virtue in the Land of the Free,” rushed to Papa Biden’s defense with a Esquire essay titled, “A President Shouldn’t Pardon His Son? Hello, Anybody Remember Neil Bush?” The subhead read, “Nobody defines Poppy Bush’s presidency by the fact that he pardoned his progeny. The moral: Shut the fuck up about Hunter Biden, please.”

The problem is that Neil Bush was never charged, indicted or implicated in any crimes that might require a pardon or clemency by his POTUS dad, and indeed never received either. Pierce’s obnoxious, insulting and smug essay was based on completely false information that he probably got from the same unreliable source that spat out the “Hunter de Butts” fiction to Ana: a chatbot. It didn’t take long for many to point this fake history out to “Esquire,” so the online piece was slapped with this disclaimer:

“Editor’s Note: This story has been updated. An earlier version stated incorrectly that George H. W. Bush gave a presidential pardon to his son, Neil Bush. Esquire regrets the error.”

However, the corrected article made no sense after its cornerstone, the lie that Bush I did what Biden did, was removed. So in short order, down came Pierce’s article, replaced by, “This Column Is No Longer Available” and “Editor’s Note: This column has been removed due to an error. The original article stated incorrectly that President George H. W. Bush gave a presidential pardon to his son, Neil Bush. Esquire regrets the mistake.”

Does Esquire also regret giving a platform to a partisan hack who wrote an entire article based on an A.I. hallucination that he didn’t bother to check, and having editors so lazy that they don’t require authors to provide citations when they make such assertions in Esquire’s pages?

Maybe Esquire should tell Charles Pierce to apply to join “The View.”

Since the election, the New York Times ethics advice columnist “The Ethicist” has been featuring a series of hopelessly dunderheaded questions from Trump-Deranged New York Democrats. “Should I cut off my Trump-supporting mother?” was one that Ethics Alarms discussed recently. I have to assume Kwame Appiah is getting a lot of these questions and thinks they really need more of an answer than “Grow up” or “Here’s the number of an affordable therapist.”

They don’t.

There were two more of this ilk today: “Is It Fair to Assume a Best Friend Is Bad and Selfish if She Supported Trump?” and a woman who felt her husband divulged a damning confidence by telling his adult children that her grandson had voted for Trump, as if he had informed them that the kid was a member of the Klan. Nobody who voted for either candidate should feel ashamed of their vote or feel they have to defend it.

Since The Ethicist’s employer is significantly responsible for these people’s current disability, being one of main purveyors of the “Trump is a fascist” fearmongering, I hold that Prof. Appiah has an obligation to give tough-love to these fools. Tell them that bias has made them stupid, that it is no more “selfish” or “ignorant” to vote for one candidate over another, and that the toxic delusion that those who reach a different conclusion than you regarding society, the culture, national policy and leadership are evil as opposed to merely having a different opinion.

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I’ve received several inquiries about how to send gifts, or donations, or whatever they would be called, to Ethics Alarms. I was going to respond yesterday, but “Giving Tuesday” annoys me, so I put it off a day.

I’m enrolled in both Zelle and BILL, though I must say I’m unimpressed with both so far, and my bank loused up my attempts to set up Stripe. Obviously, I appreciate any expressions of appreciation: I don’t work on Ethics Alarms for money, but I have to do something for money. I know many of you have sent suggestions for monetizing the blog, but it is more important to me to have readers than to make this a profit center. I think, all things considered, EA had a good year even if I personally did not.

I also appreciate feedback, on the blog or off: my email is jamproethics@verizon.net, my phone in the office is 703-548-5229, and my address, should you be moved to engage in holiday charity (but I’m not a non-profit!) is

Jack Marshall, 2707 Westminster Place, Alexandria, VA, 22305.