Author: Jack Marshall

Ethics Tip: “Ha Ha! Serves You Right!” Is Not A Productive Response To The Violent Death Of A Social Activist

/ Jack Marshall / 5 Comments

This kind of thing just worsens the hate and division.

Writing cheerily about a “NYC Activist Who Pushed for the ‘Right’ of Homeless Drug Addicts to Shoot Up on the Street” being stabbed to death by a homeless man, conservative provocateur Ace of Spades, writes, “How could this have possibly happened??? You break it, you bought it. What is that wonderful thing the left does when people in Red States are killed by “global warming”…? You know, when they cheer and say “I’m not saying I’m happy they’re dead, but I’m not not saying that…” Enjoy your crime-ridden murder-pit shitholes, future murder victims!”

The news media had reported, “A stabbing took place early Monday morning in Brooklyn’s Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood, claiming the life of poet and far-left activist Ryan Carson. The 32-year-old was walking down the sidewalk with his girlfriend when he was attacked by a stranger.” Ace went on to add, “His whore-pig of a girlfriend has previously declared that “All Cops Are Bastards” and argued for defunding the police.”

Nice. Me, I prefer to send a Nelson to San Francisco’s woke Mayor London Breed, one of the main culprits in spreading the crime wave and decline of quality of life across major U.S. cities (run by Democrats, naturally). Now facing a public backlash she richly deserves and facing re-election problems, Breed announced a policy that will require recipients of county welfare to seek drug treatment.

“No more handouts without accountability,” Breed said at a press conference. “People are not accepting help. Now, it’s time to make sure that we are cutting off resources that continue to allow this behavior.” Huh! What a concept. Wait, hasn’t it been “Nazis” suggesting policies like that? From January to August, the city coroner ruled 563 deaths accidental overdoses. The same period last year saw 400; in 2021, the figure was 435. Surely San Francisco’s extreme hands-off non-violent criminals policies couldn’t have led to this deadly deterioration of societal conduct?

Ha Ha!

Hypothetical Ethical Quote Of The Month: Rep. Jamaal Bowman

/ Jack Marshall / 2 Comments

To be absolutely clear, the hypothetical apology by Rep. Bowman that follows can’t occur now; it is too late. He has not only lied too much, but most of his allies are now totally committed to his lie, so he couldn’t back out if he wanted to.

However, there was one, brief, shining moment, as King Arthur sings in “Camelot,” when Bowman, realizing that his illegal and unethical conduct had been caught on video, had an opportunity to do a very good deed that would have created immense benefits for him, for his party, for Congress, for young American, for young African Americans, for Congress, for society, and for the nation. Bowman didn’t take that opportunity,because he is corrupt and stupid, and even today probably couldn’t be made to understand why issuing the following statement was the wise and ethical course. But it would have been.

Here is what I would have advised Rep. Bowman to say, had I been his ethics consultant:

“As has been widely reported, a video shows me pulling a fire alarm in the Cannon Office Building before the House’s vote on the interim funding bill. Let me be straightforward and honest now, because the American people deserve no less from their elected representatives. I did this deliberately, in a foolish rush to delay the vote, even though I knew at the time, as I have known all of my adult life, that it was a crime, and was wrong. I have no excuses for this. I committed the same mistake that we all must learn to avoid as we proceed through life: never make decisions rashly, in an emotional state, under the pressures of time and passion. Yet that is exactly what I did. I am ashamed of myself. This conduct was a serious betrayal not only of my constituents and my state, but also of my party and the nation I serve.

I apologize to all of them. I also betrayed myself and my values, and also  every young person in America who should be able to look to me, as they should look to all elected officials, as role models. At this moment, I am not a fit role model. I have a long journey back to be deserving of trust.

In recent months there has been a lot of public discourse about double standards in our justice system, and the dangerous political use of our laws. I am stating right now that I will not be the beneficiary of any such double standard. I broke a law and an important one: I should face the same penalty as any citizen. After this statement, I plan on presenting myself to the proper authorities. There is no need for any investigations. I am guilty, and I will accept any punishment and consequences that the District of Columbia and Congress deem appropriate.

Polls show that there has been a terrible decline in the public’s trust in its democratic institutions. I am overwhelmed by regret and remorse that my conduct in this incident has probably exacerbated that. Today I vow that as part of my contrition and restitution for what I did in the Cannon Building, I will, if I am allowed to remain a member of Congress, dedicate myself to restoring that lost trust. I also call upon my colleagues, on both sides of the aisle, to join me in that mission.

Thank-you.

Too bad he couldn’t see it. Too bad none of our members of Congress would, in all likelihood.

In Which I Speak Regarding A Head-Exploding Donald Trump Post That Should Speak For Itself (Res Ipsa Loquitur)

/ Jack Marshall / 18 Comments

How can anyone in their right mind want to have someone who thinks posting something like this is appropriate as their President?

I initially thought that post was a hoax. Silly me. It is now clearer than clear that this chaotic man is capable of saying or posting anything. He has no filters, he has no shame, the ethics alarms were never installed, and his narcissism knows no bounds. Even knowing all this well, I was still stunned to see Trump take his messianic and martyr complexes to this extreme.

Actually, I can answer, sort of, my opening question with this social media post in response to Trump’s…

Maybe this poster is in his right mind, but his right mind has an IQ of 46.

You can almost hear the more intellectually capable of conservatives desperately spinning. Here’s the reaction, for instance, of Joel Abbott of “Not the Bee”:

The name of Jesus Christ has been sanitized from our halls of power. You can’t get supposed Christian politicians to even whisper his name. They talk about “God” and providence and the divine – with a little “Amen and Awoman” on the side these days – but they won’t dare talk about Jesus. So sure, you can rant about how Trump clearly needs a savior, and how some of the Trump crowd clearly needs to tone down the messiah worship comparing him to Christ…But as for me, I am glad that such a man would share silly boomer memes of himself hanging with Jesus in the courtroom, because the name of Jesus is being magnified one way or the other. Meanwhile, the wisdom of the world – the so-called experts with their high-browed decorum – are being clowned by the foolishness of God, who would use a man like Trump in spite of Trump.

Just in case you are bothered by the Left making excuses and being in denial regarding Jamaal Bowman and the fire alarm, that’s what the Right is capable of.

Further observations:

Continue reading →

Ethics Quote Of The Month: “The Federalist’s” John Daniel Davidson On The MSM’s Lies About Rep. Bowman’s False Alarm

/ Jack Marshall / 2 Comments

“When the government and the establishment press just spout the most outlandish lies and excuses, demanding we believe them, it’s much more dangerous and frankly tyrannical than a government and press that subtly or believably lies.When governments and politicians and the media dissimulate reality in this blatant way, it suggests they no longer respect or feel accountable to the populace, and are confident that all pretense to the naked exercise of power can be dropped. They will simply tell you what to believe, what reality is, and you will accept it — no matter what your lying eyes tell you.”

This quote, from “Here’s Why The Media’s Lies About Rep. Jamaal Bowman Should Concern You” by John Daniel Davidson in “The Federalist,” perfectly expresses why I’ve already posted four times previously on this incident with this being the 5th, and a 6th coming right up. The brazen and what would in a normal, ethical environment, stupid actions of Rep. Jamaal Bowman (D-NY) in setting off a fire alarm to disrupt a House vote and then lying about it with a risible excuse should have attracted universal condemnation from our supposedly objective and non-partisan news media and even members of Bowman’s own party, it it were not so corrupt. Instead, both have inflicted the equivalent of gaslighting, implying anyone is crazy who does not accept Bowman’s claim that he pulled a fire alarm because he thought it would open a door.

Continue reading →

Rep. Jamaal Bowman’s Illegal And Unethical Fire Alarm Stunt Aftermath Update

/ Jack Marshall / 11 Comments

The House of Representatives has descended into chaos after House Speaker Keven McCarthy was ousted today, so the mainstream news media is using this purely political event (which was entirely predictable, given the slim support McCarthy had in his own party from the beginning of his Speakership and the fact that he’s a weak and not-all-that-sharp leader) to let them bury a far more significant story on the ethics side of the news: a Democratic Congressman breaking the law to disrupt a floor vote by setting off a fire alarm and subsequently lying about it so obviously that even Bart Simpson would be embarrassed by his efforts.

Ethics Alarms has posted on this sickening story—and it’s an ongoing sickening story until Bowman is punished three times already, and this is the fourth. Attention, as Mrs. Loman tells us, should be paid. This is why Americans are disgusted with Congress. This is why so many no longer trust our institutions or the politicians elected to maintain them. This is why so many have so little respect for the communities that elect disgraceful public servants like Bowman. This is why it is becoming frightening clear that “laws are for the little people.” This why there is no reason to believe or trust the mainstream media, and every reason not to.

This is why totalitarianism is a greater thereat now than at any time in our history.

The fourth installment of Ethics Alarms “Bowman and the Fire Alarm,” we begin with Marjorie Taylor Greene’s devastating video above, showing exactly how insulting and absurd Bowman’s lies about how he came to pull the fire alarm in the Cannon Office Building are. I have no admiration for Greene, and if the Republicans and Democrats could come to an agreement in which both Representatives were kicked out of the House, I would view it as beneficial to all. In this case, however, she performed a public service doing what she does best, being snide and snarky. Bowman deserves every bit of it, and so do his defenders.

Other developments of note:

Continue reading →

No, Not A Divine Miracle, Nor Even A Religious Charlatan Who’s Now Overdrawn At The Moral Luck Bank…

/ Jack Marshall / 4 Comments

It’s a hoax.

The viral video above supposedly shows a Nigerian pastor with the handle ‘Pastor Daniel’ entering the lions’ cage at a zoo to show that nothing can happen to a man of God, just like in the Bible story. “Pastor Daniel brought his church members to show them that nothing can happen to a man of God,” a Nigerian blogger wrote on Instagram. In Kenya, a local television station shared the video and it caught the attention of a member of the Kenyan parliament, Ronald Karauri. “I volunteer to take him to the Maasai Mara [national park] please, all expenses paid. We look for the lions and he can go walk with them,” he posted on Twitter/X.

Uh, no. The BBC investigated, and the video is from Somalia, while the episode shot took place in 2021 in the Somali capital, Mogadishu. The “pastor” was Mohamed Abdirahman Mohamed. He is a zookeeper and explained at the time that he raised the young lions that he is shown playing with.

Now, in 1991 a genuine emulator of the biblical Daniel, “Prophet Daniel Abodunrin,” actually did enter the lion enclosure at the University of Ibadan zoo in Nigeria. He was a real preacher, and invited his followers to watch him as he demonstrated how the power of faith can tame the savage beasts. After entering the lions’ den—it is believed a zookeeper let him in—Abodunrin chanted Bible verses while commanding communicating the big cats to be peaceful

The lions pounced on him, tore Abodunrin apart, and ate him.

.

How Hard Is It To Make A Competent And Responsible Interim Appointment To Fill A U.S. Senate Seat? Too Hard, Apparently, For Gov. Gavin Newsom…

/ Jack Marshall / 4 Comments

In California, the governor has the power to appoint a senator to serve until the next regularly scheduled statewide general election. Current California Governor Gavin Newsom had the opportunity to exercise this power because, in a previous example of unethical conduct by a California elected official, Senator Diane Feinstein had died in office after irresponsibly running for re-election when she was already 85 and declining in health and mental acuity. (California voters, who would vote for a pet rock if it had a (D) next to it, dutifully sent her back to the Senate anyway).

Newsom is running a shadow campaign to be the Democratic Party’s nominee for President in 2024 in case President Biden does a Feinstein, and has recently shown his utter lack of integrity (but we knew that) by vetoing three progressive bills that his rhetoric had previously supported, one that would have given striking union workers in California the opportunity to apply for unemployment benefits, another requiring judges to consider children’s gender identities in custody disputes, and a third that would have barred California’s prison system from sharing information about incarcerated immigrants with federal officials, in keeping with California’s “sanctuary state” position. You can almost hear the wheels turning: Newsom knows that progressives will vote for him over Donald Trump no matter what he does, so he’s trying to look like a moderate to those millions of apathetic and ignorant voters who haven’t been paying attention to what’s happening in California under his watch. Good plan! Unethical, weasel-like, but smart.

In a similarly cynical calculation, Newsom promised in 2021 to appoint a black woman should Feinstein’s seat become open. Not only was this an announcement that Newsom placed pandering to poweful Democratic constituency groups over seeking the most qualified person to fill a crucial legislative position, it also was a betrayal of his duty to the population of Claifornia, all of whose interests must be served by a U.S. Senator, but also to the citizens of the United States as a whole, who require the best representation in their republic available. Gender and skin color are not qualifications for high elected office.

Continue reading →

Comment Of The Day: “Ethics Quiz: The Rehabilitated Brain-Eating Cannibal”

/ Jack Marshall / 9 Comments

I did not, when I decided that the saga of Tyree Smith justified an ethics quiz, foresee that the story neatly dovetailed into a larger theme covered extensively by ethics alarms of late, the untrustworthiness of “experts” and the danger of blindly accepting their pronouncements, influenced as they too often are by ideological biases and political agendas. Longtime commenter Michael R., however (3, 425 comments since October 26, 2012!) managed to connect the dots.

Here is his Comment of the Day on the post, “Ethics Quiz: The Rehabilitated Brain-Eating Cannibal”:

***

This is why it is time to remove the monopolies these professional groups have on essential services. The psychiatrists and psychologists have a monopoly on confining people for mental illness and, in this case, releasing the criminally mentally ill. How many times have they failed in this? James Holmes (above), the 2012 Aurora, Colorado movie theater shooter, is a good case in point. He had been banned from seeking psychiatric help because he was deemed too dangerous, but the very establishment that deemed him too dangerous to be around THEM, refused to sign papers that would let the police involuntarily confine him. At least they successfully determined he was a danger to those around him, they just refused to help the general public. We have them pushing puberty blockers and surgical sterilization on children with no evidence this will help. In fact, the actual ailments they suffer from were probably caused by the very ‘experts’ that get to decide the ‘treatment’.

Let’s look at medicine next. The medical associations regulate themselves and are calling for ideological conformity in all physicians. Anyone who disagrees about COVID masks, vaccinations, DEI, affirmative action, etc can’t be a physician. Pharmacists can refuse to fill prescriptions if they don’t agree with the physician’s treatment, or diagnosis, or they think the person looks sketchy. Medicine is an essential service. We can’t have such groups dictating if we can get care or not.

Continue reading →

Confronting My Biases, Episode 1: The Slow Walkers

/ Jack Marshall / 15 Comments

This may be a continuing series: I have thought about the issue for quite a while.

Despite the fact that several woke bar associations have paid me in the past to create and teach “elimination of bias” seminars (I don’t accept those jobs any more), I know that bias can’t be “eliminated.” All biases can be is recognized and handled, and even that’s not easy. It is important to try, however. “Bias makes you stupid” is one of Ethics Alarms’ mottos, and I remain quite confident of its accuracy.

I have a lot of biases, positive and negative, many of which appear here regularly. Some I am quite attached to: for example, I am biased against unethical politicians no matter how much I may agree with their policies or their accomplishments. At this point, I am biased against all journalists,and I believe that is the necessary starting point for anyone following what we laughingly call “the news.” However, there are some biases I hold that I recognize as unfair and that distort my judgment to an unethical degree.

This brings me to the subject of slow walkers.

Continue reading →

Yet ANOTHER Rep. Jamaal Bowman False Alarm Update: This Guy Is Beyond Belief!

/ Jack Marshall / 22 Comments

The main unbelievable aspect of this ongoing Ethics Dunce saga, sufficient to qualify it as an Ethics Alarms “Ripley,” is that someone this foolish, unethical and absurd can be elected to Congress in this country.

This is not a parody. This is not a Babylon Bee piece. I am not making what follows up.

When we last left the male “Squad” member and Democratic Representative from New York, he was lying what he risibly calls “his head” off after being caught on video deliberately setting off a fire alarm in the Cannon Office Building in order to delay the House vote on the desperate government funding fill, which was signed over the weekend. This, as many have pointed out, was a crime , so because crimes require intent, and this one is the same crime the January 6 rioters are being sent to prison for excessive periods for (among others), Bowman claimed, hilariously, that he didn’t know that what he pulled was a fire alarm, even though everyone knows what a fire alarm looks like, and that he set off the alarm “by mistake,” thinking that it would open a door that had signs on it explaining how the door opened. Everybody knows that nobody over the age of three could pull down a fire alarm lever “mistakenly.’

Now, since the King’s Pass Bowman expected didn’t materialize (“The Black Democrat’s Pass” is a sub-rationalization of the King’s Pass), Bowman has issued suggested talking points about the scandal, and I present them below, again emphasizing that these are real. Hold on to your skulls:

Continue reading →