Author: Jack Marshall

Ethics Quiz: Preserving KKK History

/ Jack Marshall / 16 Comments

I find this ethics controversy specially opaque.

In San Marcos, Texas, Kristy Kay Money and Rolf Jacob Sraubhaar own a home in the city’s Burleson Historic District. It has a large metal “Z” bolted to an iron balcony on the front of the house, a reminder of the home’s original owner (and builder) Frank Zimmerman. He was a local businessman and the owner of the city’s historic theater; he also served as San Marcos mayor from 1949 to 1951. Zimmerman is commemorated around the town: a plaque states he “came to San Marcos in 1922, beginning a 47-year career in the theater industry with the purchase of the Grand Opera House and the original Palace Theater.”

But in 2016, it was discovered that a Palace Theater advertisement in the San Marcos Record dated March 28, 1924  proclaimed “KU KLUX KLAN DAY.” A related article titled “Klan Picture Coming” told readers, “A treat is in store for every person within 20 miles of San Marcos.  The Palace Theatre has been fortunate in booking the two-reel motion picture showing the Ku Klux Klan activities at the recent Dallas fair. It will be shown in connection with the regular admission price of 10, 20 and 30 cents, next Wednesday and Thursday.” Zimmerman’s theater also hosted screenings of Woodrow Wilson’s favorite film, “Birth of a Nation.”

Money and Sraubhaar decided they didn’t need a constant reminder of their home’s Klan-tainted history. They now want to remove the balcony and the Zimmerman “Z.” Their home is in a historic district, however, and though it has not been declared a historic structure itself, the San Marcos’ Historic Preservation Commission has to approve the proposed alteration. Last year it voted unanimously to deny their application to make the changes. The couple is now suing, but never mind that:

Your Ethics Alarms Ethics Quiz of the Day is…

Should the government protect historic structures and artifacts that relate to dark events and less than admirable figures (by today’s values) in local and American history?

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More Trust Problems: Defunding’s Not the Answer, But What DO We Do About Our Untrustworthy Law Enforcement?

/ Jack Marshall / 12 Comments

I guess the first step is admitting that it’s untrustworthy. [ I guarantee the 2022 level of trust represented above has declined.]

Out of Colorado comes the disturbing news that Yvonne “Missy” Woods, a Colorado Bureau of Investigation DNA scientist, breached standard testing protocols, manipulated data in the DNA testing process and posted incomplete test results in a staggering 652 cases.The agency called it “an unprecedented breach of trust.” I’m not so sure about the “unprecedented” part, but it certainly doesn’t encourage the trust of the public, or perhaps more importantly, juries. The affected cases occurred between 2008 through 2023, but there may be more: an investigation is reviewing Missy’s work dating back to 1994. She worked for the lab for 29 years, but the CBIonly became aware of irregularities in her work last September. She was placed on administrative in early October and retired a month later. [Pointer: valkygrrl]

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On Shaking Trust: Trivial Episode, Useful Lesson

/ Jack Marshall / 1 Comment

My gut reaction to the latest Royal scandal in Great Britain was dismissive: so a snapshot of Princess Catherine was photoshopped: the Horror. But this was just a bi-product of my long-standing lack of interest in the UK’s peculiar institution and a hangover from so many of my female acquaintances reacting to the death of Princess Diana as if their own families had suffered the equivalent of the Cheshire home invasion. The current episode is important for the ethics lesson it teaches, although you would think that this particular lesson would have been learned by the Windsors a long time ago. Did the royal family not watch “The Crown”?

The Prince and Princess of Windsor released the first official photo of Catherine since her abdominal surgery two months ago, a Mother’s Day snapshot allagedly taken by Prince William. Somehow the couple didn’t consider the modern reality that digital sleuths are everywhere, and quickly those annoying common troublemakers discovered that tell-tale signs of photo manipulation were afoot. You can see the various smoking guns above.

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Weird Tales of The Great Stupid: O Canada!

/ Jack Marshall / 15 Comments

I suppose it’s comforting to know that the U.S. isn’t quite as infected with the toxins of The Great Stupid as Great Britain or Canada. Yet.

The Goodfellas Wood Oven Pizza on Old Mill Dr. surprised diners recently with this at the bottom of the bill:

A 2% “carbon fee” ! For what, exactly? The bill explains:

Oh. Canada’s restaurant czars told reporters that the fee was legal since it wasn’t called a tax and that because the establishment’s website informs consumers that this is what they are in for, diners have to pay it. My reaction would be “Bite me!” If you are so fearful of the climate effects of eating, then don’t run a restaurant.The website explains in more detail, “what we eat fuels climate change. Goodfellas uses certified D.O.P products from Italy to remain true to the brand, and it’s not always possible to buy local. Adding 2% to every restaurant bill to invest in carbon capture will help offset our carbon footprint.”

The Toronto Sun’s article about this overt nickel-and-diming, virtue-signaling exercise says that the diners they interviewed said that the charge didn’t upset them. Canada, Land of Woke Weenies. The charge is unethical, obnoxious, and dumb. Anyone with any self-respect who hasn’t been indoctrinated and beaten into loving Greta Thunberg like Winston Smith loved Big Brother would refuse to pay the charge and dare the restaurant to have them arrested. Or say,”Fine: I’ll reduce my tip by three dollars.” Better yet, eliminate the tip entirely because the place had the gall to attempt this scam.

I don’t know how Canadians got this way, but it reminds me of “Invasion of the Body Snatchers. I think we need to start paying more attention to our northern border to keep these pod people out.

Just In Time For the 2024 Campaign, George Stephanopoulos Reminds Us Just How Partisan, Biased and Unethical He Is

/ Jack Marshall / 3 Comments

Thanks, George!

George Stephanopoulos has been polluting broadcast journalism with the unconscionable conflicts of interest he brings to his prominent news show hosting roles for so long that a lot of viewers probably don’t realize just how outrageous it was for ABC to give such a huge megaphone to one of the most prominent Clinton henchmen. Yesterday on ABC’s “This Week,” George was interviewing Republican Representative for South Carolina’s 1st congressional district Nancy Mace. She’s a Trump supporter, so George felt a cheap shot was justified. Though she was on his show to talk about the election, Stephanopoulos blindsided her by referencing Mace’s past rape, and using it against her. To her credit, Mace called his tactic out immediately:

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Comment of the Day: “Life Imitates ‘Seinfeld’: For Fake Fat-Free Yogurt, Substitute Fake Gluten-Free Doughnuts”

/ Jack Marshall / 4 Comments

As I have learned in the nearly 15 years of writing Ethics Alarms, you (that is, I) never know which topics will generate profound commentary. The post about a vegan bakery that sold fake gluten-free doughnuts sparked this terrific and wide-ranging Comment of the Day by Sarah B. Here it is, in response to “Life Imitates ‘Seinfeld’: For Fake Fat-Free Yogurt, Substitute Fake Gluten-Free Doughnuts”:

***

I know of one person with celiac disease, and I know personally one person with celiac disease and another two people with a severe gluten intolerance/allergy.  These people puke blood when they eat gluten in a reasonable amount.  I know of another two people who are allergic to milk.  They have significant bone issues as well.  I had a best friend in college who was allergic to everything under the sun and had to be very careful to only eat safe foods.  She once thought she could actually order some food one night from a grill after watching them closely, but the grill used peanut oil instead of olive oil as she thought, and she had to go to the hospital.

Because I know these people, I feel great compassion for those with real food allergies, gluten and lactose intolerance, and other real dietary concerns.  However, there are so many people who pretend to have allergies who do not.  The amazing prevalence of fakes makes it hard to remember that people really have true problems. 

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On Incompetent Pundits (Like Bill Maher)

/ Jack Marshall / 2 Comments

It’s no wonder the “low-information” voter is confused. The media presents prominent individuals as experts, analysts and pundits who often lack the experience, education, erudition, breadth of information and, sadly, active brain cells to fulfill these roles competently. Meanwhile, much of the public lacks the tools and ability to distinguish legitimate authorities whose opinions are at least worthy of being taken seriously from the fake variety, as with the opinionated dolts of “The View,” officially a news program, remember.

I was forced to think about this toxic phenomenon when I read that Bill Maher proclaimed on his HBO political punditry/ comedy show that a President Biden -Nikki Haley ticket would be the perfect solution to the current Democratic Party dilemma as it prepares to face Adolf Hitler…excuse me, Donald Trump…in the upcoming election. Maher said Haley would be a “good fit” because she is a “woman of color.” “I know it’s crazy to think that she could run with Biden, but that’s my dream, a unity ticket. And then he would, I think, definitely win,” Maher said.

Good thinking, Bill: you’re an idiot. Worse than that, you’re a hypocrite.

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No Surprises: The Academy Awards Botches Its “In Memoriam” Segment Again

/ Jack Marshall / 10 Comments

Differently this time, but still. How hard is it to decide on fair, respectful criteria for the annual feature memorializing film artists who have shuffled of this mortal coil without making obvious omissions and displaying clear bias? Apparently it isn’t just hard, but impossible.

Ethics Alarms had covered this annual orgy of incompetence, unfairness and disrespect for so long, it goes back to when I actually watched the whole show and hadn’t concluded that it was entirely politically biased, phony, crap. Even if I hadn’t given up on the show, the presence of ethics villain Jimmy Kimmel as host guaranteed my absence, though I did force myself to watch the “In Memoriam” segment after the fact.

I agree with the conspiracy theorists who argue that the horrible direction of the over-produced segment this year, focusing on the choreography and often defaulting to such a long view that slides of the departed could barely be read was intentional. It seemed to be designed to foil the sharp-eyed critics who have called out Oscar’s snubs of significant performers, usually because they dared to spend more time on TV than on the big screen.

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At Least They Weren’t Flying A Boeing 737 Max…

/ Jack Marshall / 7 Comments

Now these were unethical pilots:

Evoking a memorable scene in “National Lampoon’sVacation” but in a passenger jet instead of a station wagon, the pilot and co-pilot of Batik Air flight en-route to Jakarta fell asleep in the cockpit of their Airbus A320 for 28 minutes. The 153 passengers and four flight attendants on board did not know that no one was flying the plane. A preliminary report by Indonesia’s National Transportation Safety Committee explained why the plane drifted off its designated flight path during the January 25 incident, and it sounds like a version of “Airplane!”

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Sunday Ethics Pick-Up, 3/10/2024: Pre-Oscars Ceremony That I Won’t Be Watching Installment

/ Jack Marshall / 32 Comments

Well, I’ll include one movie-related note. Grace, the late Mrs. Marshall, was amazing in her ability to spot continuity errors in films, and logical gaffes and plot holes annoyed her greatly, even more than they do me. (The “impact tremors” when the T-Rex is approaching in “Jurassic Park” was a particular target of her scorn: water would ripple in the glass, but at the climax of the film the dinosaur somehow creeps up on everybody to surprise the raptors and rescue the heroes. Grace mentioned it every time we saw the film, which was often.) The Times has a feature called “As Oscars approach, an honest look at beloved sports movies’ glaring plot holes.” The holes cited are the kind of things Grace would hate, but these are hardly “beloved sports movies.” In fact, almost all of them stink. Not one comes close to being on my list of the best sports movies (which are all ethics movies too.) You would have to staple my eyelids to my forehead to get me to watch “Happy Gilmore.”

1. Stop making me defend the public school system! On what must have been a slow outrage day, the Daily Caller took after this assignment, allegedly screen-shotted by a 16-year-old student:

Yeah, it looks like a dumb assignment, but absent context and the class work around it, there is no fair way to be sure. But what struck me about the Daily Caller’s critique was this: “If your child is incapable of writing more than 10 or so sentences on World War I, you have failed to educate them. Therefore, you have failed as a parent and you’re continuing to do so if you keep allowing schools to get away with not doing their job — a job you pay them for with your taxes every year.”

The failure of parents to do their duty of educating their kids as well as the deterioration of public education are important issues, but World War I illiteracy isn’t proof of either. I had a very good public school education, and my father was teaching my sister and me history all the time, but The Great War was largely ignored by both. It has always been a black hole of U.S. history along with the War of 1812, for a variety of reasons. There’s a lot more to American history than that remarkably pointless war, and the Revolution, the Civil War and World War II get most of the limited time the schools have to cover conflicts, as they should.

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