I didn’t foresee a this supplementary post being necessary after parts 1 and 2 a month ago. The evidence was overwhelming already that the Democratic Party was, with record-setting gall, accusing the Republicans in general and Donald Trump in particular of being an existential threat to democracy while their own party was deliberately undermining the Constitution. Part 2 listed 15 examples; it was far from complete. However, one of the more absurd examples, which I originally flagged in this earlier post, is apparently being seriously pursued.
Although the moldy oldie Equal Rights Amendment failed to be ratified by a sufficient number of states before the Congress-imposed deadline for doing so expired, Democrats want it to be declared the 28th Amendment to the Constitution anyway. Turley explains,
WordPress won’t let me embed TikTok and Instagram videos (or I can’t figure out how to do it), so if you are unfamiliar with the with the collaboration by the White House and web comic “Benny Drama” to convince Gen Z-ers to take their Wuhan vaccine, the above overview will have to do. The video debuted in August, but Fox News pundit Laura Ingraham aired part of it—with a sneer on her lips—just a couple of days ago.
This date in 1865 marked one of the great hypocrisies of all time. The Confederacy, back to the metaphorical wall and facing defeat, approved the use of black troops. Slaves were the last source of recruits left for the Confederacy, but forcing them to fight against their own interests was as cruel as it was illogical. One Southern politician asked, “What did we go to war for, if not to protect our property?” Another pointed out, “If slaves will make good soldiers, our whole theory of slavery is wrong.” Ya think?
Focused only on military survival, General Robert E. Lee’s brutal contribution to the debate was “We must decide whether slavery shall be extinguished by our enemies and the slaves be used against us, or use them ourselves.” At least Lee asked that the black soldiers who fought for the Confederacy be ensured their freedom, but the Confederate Congress’s bill authorizing black soldiers on March 13, 1865, did not include that feature.
1. What is the ethical reply to a Facebook comment like this? An old friend and nice guy weighed in on a Facebook thread entirely occupied by tunnel-visioned, knee-jerk progressives (like him) and launched by a fatuous comment about what a great leader Zalinsky is and how the U.S. has no similarly admirable political leaders. My friend wrote, “Biden’s doing a good job!” I had to wrestle my fingers to the ground. By what possible perspective could anyone of any political persuasion say that Biden is doing a “good job”? My friend isn’t especially political; he’s not lying: he must really think that, and, of course, all of the knee-jerks “liked” that assessment. I ultimately decided to let his statement go, and instead wrote that bravely refusing to accept defeat during an invasion and inspiring your nation is a narrow band of admirable leadership in a very specific kind of situation, but it doesn’t, by itself, make someone a “great leader.” Before the Russian attack, nobody thought of Zalinsky as a great leader. He has guts and principles, but there is more to leadership than that.
In Virginia, an unexpected chance to use Dean’s definitive rendition of this cheerful winter song for the last time (I assume) before “The Flowers That Bloom In The Spring (Tra-la!)” is more appropriate…
Dog-walking ethics reflections: one of these days, I am going to stop and admonish the dog owners I see walking their four-legged companions in any of the following ways:
Dragging the dog on the leash at a breakneck pace and not allowing it to stop and sniff, which is roughly the equivalent of forcing a toddler to walk blindfolded.
Walking the dog while engrossed in a bluetooth or cell phone conversation, not interacting with the dog at all.
Walking far in front of the dog, without ever making eye contact or physically interacting with it.
Riding a bicycle with a dog on a leash, forcing the dog to run along to keep up.
Dogs want to be close to their humans and be acknowledged. Spuds gets so excited about going out that he can barely contain himself. I talk to him on our walks, try to accommodate his whims and interact with him as much as possible. The practices I see with too many other dog owners come just short of animal cruelty. I know I’ve mentioned this before, but yesterday was especially bad, as I saw one neglectful walker after another.
Now I’m taking Spuds out. He loves to eat fresh snow.
1. This drives me crazy. The House voted last week to pass a multi-trillion-dollar “omnibus” spending bill that was more than 2,700 pages. Members of Congress received the 2,700+ page bill’s text in the early morning hours with the vote scheduled for the same afternoon. Obviously, the vast majority of the House voted without reading the bill—-I’m pretty sure none of them read that fast. I have serious doubts about whether some of them can read at all.
Voting on mere summaries is irresponsible on the Members’ part, and not providing adequate time for Members to perform due diligence is unethical on the part of House leaders. Complains Brad Polumbo, “And, of course, if they voted against this bill, they will now be accused of opposing pay increases for soldiers and being obstructionists who shut down the government.”
Too bad: they still have an ethical obligation not to vote blindly. Each House Member should have to certify under oath that he or she has read any bill they vote for. If they are not given sufficient time, they should withhold their vote as a matter of responsible government. Continue reading →
The slow-onset of warmer weather always puts me in mind of Pat Boone, who long ago gave us two classic warm weather love songs, “April Love” and “Love Letters in the Sand.” So many people and memories make me feel old these days; I resent it, because one really is as old as one feels, and I usually feel like I’m 12. Wrinkled child stars from my distant memories make me feel old; photographs make me feel old (which is why I don’t own a camera); worst of all are old friends who act old, or who always complain about the indignities of age. Pat Boone, however, is something else. He’s a lot older than me, 87, and hosts a once-a-week show on the Sirius Fifties Channel. Each installment includes recordings from Pat’s era, including some of his hits, but also many others, with Boone’s commentary and reminiscences. He’s a superb disc-jockey, conversational, articulate, glib, informative and funny: I know how much time and effort it takes to prepare an hour like that. Unlike so many singers and actors of his generation, Pat’s voice is as clear and mellifluous as always; his energy is high, his enthusiasm for his topic is delightful, and there is always a smile in his demeanor. Pat Boone is an inspiration: if that’s what results from clean living, he’s also a great role model. Pat’s going strong when he’s old enough to be my father.
And he makes me feel young.
1. Is a warning enough for a teacher like this? Anacortes High School teacher Casey Anderson has a tissue dispenser shaped like a cat, and the tissues are pulled from the cat’s ceramic butt (the appropriateness of this object is a separate question). Asked by one student how she refilled the supply of tissues, she said, “I turn down the lights, then put on some soft music and use a LOT of vaseline…”Then she retrieved a big container of petroleum jelly she had in her closet and placed it right by the “cat.” Somehow, parents had a problem with this.
The school district issued a statement saying that it had conducted an investigation and “formally reprimanded the teacher. This behavior is unacceptable and not tolerated by the district. We received several complaints from parents. The formal reprimand becomes part of an employee’s personnel file. We’re working with the employee to ensure that professional standards are met in the future.” Anderson is also the “Gay and Sexualities Alliance” adviser at the Washington high school, though the episode would be exactly as inappropriate whatever her role or personal orientation.
Parents need to trust teachers, and that means trusting their judgment and ethics alarms. Is it reasonable to trust a teacher who behaves like that even once?
From the Facebook community standards: “We remove content that glorifies violence or celebrates the suffering or humiliation of others…”
Required addition: “…except when its violence we approve of or that sufficient number of our users will cheer.”
As I noted in the previous post: the Big Tech leaders are untrustworthy people. The fact that they wield so much power and influence over American beliefs and attitudes is terrifying.
I don’t care what the calendar says, it’s Spring in Alexandria , VA; this weekend we “spring forward,” baseball is starting Spring Training, and March is going out like a red panda, the cutest animal there is except for baby red pandas, which are so cute I can’t stand it.
I would think the Ethics Alarms Commentariat would have a lot to argue about after last week. Keep your contributions civil, relevant, and perspicacious, please.
I’m jubilant! Major League Baseball and the Player’s Union agreed on a new Basic Agreement, ending the team owners’ lockout and guaranteeing that there will be a 2022 season. The terms of the agreement are irrelevant to ethics; the fact that the two adverse parties managed to come to a compromise is ethics news only to this extent: When thing are rotten—and they are—that’s when baseball, the most American and idealistic of sports (and like America, an entity that struggles to rise to its ideals) , is most needed and appreciated. It is why FDR urged baseball to keep playing during World War II. Baseball also keeps Ethics Alarms in good supply of issues that easily transfer to other aspects of society.
Whew. That was a close one!
1. Yet another dumb Russian “sanction” that hurts nobody involved with the invasion! First I learned that the famous Russian Tea Room in Manhattan was the target of a boycott, though its founders were from Ukraine, and it is, you know, run by Americans. Then this news arrived: The American Kennel Club announced,
The American Kennel Club is opposed to the ongoing crisis in the Ukraine. In solidarity with the Ukrainian people, effective immediately, judges from the Russian Federation will not be approved to judge at AKC sanctioned events. Additionally, new requests for imported dog registrations (AKC Foreign Registration) from the Russian Kennel Federation will be denied effective immediately. We continue to explore options to provide assistance to the Ukrainian people and their pets during this crisis.
I would say “This is getting ridiculous!” but it got ridiculous some time ago. [Pointer: Mrs. Q]
2. Georgetown Law Center suspended a professor who criticized using racial and gender discrimination to pick SCOTUS nominees, but the University let this U.S. hating fanatic speak to on campus.
I thought the virtue-signaling, mindless attack on all things Russian crossed the line into bigotry and persecution when an eminent Russian-born conductor lost his job with two German orchestras because he refused to publicly condemn Vladimir Putin. (I wouldn’t publicly condemn Satan if an employer ordered me to. That would be submitting to an abuse of power.) Then the Met fired a principal soprano for the same reason, and things really got weird.
Bars and restaurants started banning vodka. Russian cat breeds were banned from cat shows. A popular french fries with cheese curds and gravy dish was taken off menus in France and Canada because the name for it sounded like “Putin.” Today, the Cardiff Philharmonic Orchestra has removed Tchaikovsky from its upcoming concert because, the announcement said, playing compositions by the Russian composer, who died in 1893 is considered by the orchestra ‘to be inappropriate at this time.’ Continue reading →
Before we bid the Alamo goodbye for another year (in which there was virtually no mention of the event in the media, despite the obvious parallels with Ukraine’s plight), I have a few ethics observations on the 1960 John Wayne film, some of which I may have offered before:
The version on Amazon Prime is unfair to the movie, cutting out almost half an hour from the version that was originally released. The film was an epic and produced to be one, complete with an overture and an intermission. These should be restored. Some of the cuts aren’t missed, like the irrelevant and sentimental birthday party for Capt. Dickinson’s daughter (played by Wayne’s own daughter) along with the sappy song Ken Curtis sings to her. Still, it’s an important movie, and deserves more respect. The parson’s death scene is a particularly cruel cut.
The film is perhaps the perfect embodiment of the lesson of another Wayne film, “The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance”: “When the legend becomes fact, print the legend.” In virtually every instance where the screenplay had to choose between the actual events and the myths as the Alamo tale has been told through the years, it was the myth that won out. There is a justification for that. The Alamo is a symbol of bravery, sacrifice, continuing to fight against hopeless odds, and the American spirit. That’s what John Wayne wanted to make a film about, not history. As one Texas historian said in a documentary, “The movie is wrong about almost everything, but it feels right.” In this it resembles the current debate over how to teach American history to children.
Wayne’s carelessness (or inexperience) as a director occasionally hurts the film, like when Chill Wills accompanies himself on the guitar and it’s obvious that he isn’t even trying to look like he’s playing it. I’m not a stickler for accents, but it also annoys me that Laurence Harvey uses a Southern drawl in his first scene, and speaks like the very British actor he was for the rest of the movie. On the other hand, Wayne’s direction of the final night before the slaughter is excellent and moving.
The movie went to great lengths to avoid denigrating Mexicans. There is an exchange where they Alamo defenders express their admiration for their enemies’ courage, and Wayne shows weeping Mexican women tending to the fallen troops.
The screenplay includes an Al Sharpton-style ploy by Davy Crockett. To convince his Tennesseans to join the Alamo cause, he creates a fake letter from Santa Anna, to Crockett, warning him and his men not to involve themselves in the fight, and threatening their lives if they do. As Crockett assumed, his men take offense and resolve to join the fight simply to defy the Mexican general. Davy admits that he wrote the letter, and is amazed that this doesn’t change their reaction at all. After all, they insist, Santa Anna would have made such a threat, so the letter might as well be true! Shades of Tawana Brawley…
