Ethics Quiz: The Weather Lady’s Collapse

/ Jack Marshall / 10 Comments

Let me begin by announcing that she seems to be Ok, and is recuperating at home.

Your Ethics Alarms Ethics Quiz of the Day is…

Is laughing the first time you see that video (as I did)  unethical, as in unkind, uncaring, and disrespectful, a violation of the Golden Rule?

Related questions:

  • Is slapstick comedy corrupting?
  • Is this a guy thing?
  • I am a physical comedy aficionado; I’ve staged it, written it, and performed it. Does that excuse me, or damn me?
  • I laughed before I knew what happened to the poor woman. Would it change your answer if she had died? (It shouldn’t, you know. Moral luck again.)

So John Connolly Secretly Undermined U.S. Efforts To Get Iran To Return Its American Hostages In 1980…

/ Jack Marshall / 5 Comments

As we continue to debate what constitutes stealing a Presidency, Ben Barnes, a former close associate of the late John Connolly—Texas Governor, Democrat-turned-Republican, the man wounded during the assassination of President Kennedy and Secretary of the Treasury under President Reagan—revealed this week that he believes he took part in a secret mission by Connolly to sabotage Jimmy Carter’s re-election. Barnes says that Connolly went to “one Middle Eastern capital after another” in the summer of 1980, telling regional leaders to get a crucial message to Iran’s leader that the nation should not release the 52 U.S. citizens taken hostage from the American embassy until after the election, which Reagan would win and proceed to give Iran “a better deal.”

The New York Times has the details here in (for a change) straightforward reporting. As we all know, Reagan won, and won handily. Nobody can know if the hostage crisis was the reason for Carter’s defeat; after all, Jimmy was not having a very successful term in any respect. Nor, apparently, does anyone know if Connolly’s alleged message ever was relayed to Iran, or if it was, whether it had any influence on Iran’s actions.

The Times makes a strong case that Barnes is telling the truth, though Barnes has no diaries or memos to corroborate his account. For one thing, there is no reason for him to make the story up. For another, the Times spoke with four living individuals who confirmed that Barnes, who is now 85, shared the story with them years ago. Another part of the account that tends to make his tale credible is that William J. Casey, the chairman of Ronald Reagan’s 1980 campaign and later director of the Central Intelligence Agency, was involved. Casey was a shady figure, and his participation in a scheme like this would be in character. Still, there is no evidence besides Barnes’ word.

Ethics Observations:

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Ethics Hero And “Bite Me!” Déjà Vu: San Jose Sharks Goalie James Reimer [Corrected]

/ Jack Marshall / 12 Comments

You may not believe this, given how often it is I have to do it, but I hate repeating myself. This post is essentially identical to this one, from January: same issue, same pandering, power-abusing sports league (the NHL), same awards (Ethics Hero and A “Bite Me!”), same despicable news media coverage; different team (the Sharks in place of the Flyers) and different player (Sharks goalie James Reimer replacing the Philadelphia Flyers’ Ivan Provorov…during the game against the Islanders,).

As in the case of the Flyers two months ago, the Sharks hosted a Pride Night (what someone’s sexual activities have to do with hockey and why they are something to be proud of remains a mystery to me), and announced that, in addition to offering silly LGTBQ+ themed, “Great Stupid”classic items like these…

…during the game against the Islanders,and promoting it with pandering blather like this…

…the team also committed its players to wearing special pride-themed jerseys during pre-game warm-ups. Well, you can’t do that, not ethically. It’s compelled speech by an employer with a threat of negative consequences for any employee who doesn’t comply. I would (and have) refused to go along with such edicts as an employee in the past even when I happened to agree with the sentiments I was ordered to endorse.

Like Provorov, the Sharks goalie declined to be pushed into endorsing something he chose not to, stating,

“For all 13 years of my NHL career, I have been a Christian — not just in title, but in how I choose to live my life daily. I have a personal faith in Jesus Christ who died on the cross for my sins and, in response, asks me to love everyone and follow him. I have no hate in my heart for anyone, and I have always strived to treat everyone that I encounter with respect and kindness. In this specific instance, I am choosing not to endorse something that is counter to my personal convictions which are based on the Bible, the highest authority in my life,”

He should not have been placed in a position where he had to make such a statement. (I would have preferred to see a shorts statement about compelled speech and political endorsements in general, but that’s just me.)

Predictably, and just as in the case of Reimer, the Woke Borg, Mainstream Media Division, attacked. One hockey writer described Reimer as “absolutely a homophobe” and beclowned himself by writing, “Here’s also what I believe, Jesus would unequivocally love and celebrate the LGBTQ+ community. He’d be the first to wear a rainbow.” Another sports writer wrote that Reimer is “hiding behind the Bible to refuse to endorse gay people having rights and existing.” A bit less mainstream, a newsletter about sexism in sports spat out, “Under the umbrella of disingenuous bullshit, you can fuck right off with this statement. If you truly believed the queer community is welcome in hockey, you’d wear the shirt. You do not get to have it both ways. Jesus is not impressed.” More assumptions about that well-known hockey fan, Jesus of Nazareth!

The NHL and the Sharks are the ethics villains here for putting their players in this position.

The NHL and the Sharks are the ethics villains here for putting their players in this position. The Sharks tried to both double down and weasel out, issuing this:

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More Weird Tales From “The Great Stupid”: Neat Pantries Are Racist And Sexist!

/ Jack Marshall / 6 Comments

Some of the Wokish opinion pieces being belched out of The Great Stupid are so outlandish they transcend being selected as Ethics Alarms “Unethical Quotes of the Month.” A truly deranged quote isn’t unethical so much as it is tragic, even one as brain-melting as this one, from “The Conversation,” a website which risibly claims to provide “academic rigor, journalistic flair.” Yeah, only academic rigor could produce an essay like “Pantry porn’ on TikTok and Instagram makes obsessively organized kitchens a new status symbol.”

Here’s the ‘money quote’, the section that proves beyond all doubt that the only reason to take the time to read this precious, arrogant clap-trap is to gain insight into just how crazy the victim-obsessed Left has become:

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On The Looming Indictment Of Donald Trump

/ Jack Marshall / 24 Comments

You knew this was coming sooner or later, I assume, regardless of the facts, the possible consequences, the further polarization of the nation and culture. It was inevitable the second Donald Trump shocked the establishment and stopped Hillary Clinton from becoming President the next step in the assumed progressive takeover of the government and American society. He had a target on his back even before he was inaugurated, and in the ensuing nearly seven years Trump was subjected without pause to contrived Big Lies proclaimed by “the resistance,” the Democrats and the news media designed to poison public opinion and prevent his re-election, dishonest impeachment theories (as well as two unethical impeachments), politically motivated raid on his home, and the unethical, relentless pursuit of prosecutors seeking to find a crime to charge him with, which is absolutely an abuse of the prosecutoral function.

Now victory, if you are warped enough to see it as that, is near. A Manhattan grand jury is expected to hand down the much awaited indictment this week, perhaps as early as Tuesday. No U.S. President has ever been indicted or arrested in or out of office, so I’m sure the sick hearts of the Trump-Deranged are bursting out of their chests with joy in anticipation.

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Showdown At Staples: A Duty To Confront Saga [Corrected]

/ Jack Marshall / 25 Comments

This morning, my wife sent me on a mission to buy a new portable calculator. At the nearby strip-mall, there are three retail options right in a row: Target, Staples, and Best Buy. Target looked crowded, and the Best Buy is huge and bewildering, so I chose the more modest-sized Staples, where ProEthics has an account.

When I entered, none of the aisle and section signs—there were about two dozen— indicated that the store even offers calculators, though I knew that couldn’t be the case in an office supply store. There was a 15 foot banner proclaiming “CUSTOMER SERVICE,” however, with one female clerk beneath it, processing the purchase of an ancient man who was moving in slow motion. After waiting a few minutes and realizing that the transaction might take until Arbor Day, I asked the Staples employee where I could find the calculators, assuming it was an easily and quickly answered query and that I could get the information before the aged customer finished searching through his wallet.

The employee obviously had no idea. She said, “I think it’s down there somewhere,” pointing to the other side of the store. “Is there an aisle sign that I should look for?” I asked. “You know, let me check with somebody; just wait a minute,” she replied, and went back to Methuselah.

“Bye!” I said sharply, and left the store. [ Update: I was wrong to write that, because I did NOT say anything, sharply or otherwise as I left Staples. A sharp “bye” would have perfectly expressed by state of mind, however. Still, that was a false account.] I then went to Best Buy; its customer service staffer gave me directions, pointed out a sign and a section, and I had picked out the item in less than five minutes.

After completing the purchase, I went back to the young man at the service desk and thanked him for his competence. I also told him how his counterpart at Staples had blown it, and that Best Buy had my business from now on.

I wasn’t done yet, however.

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Yes, Hollywood Discriminates Against 600 Lb Actors….

/ Jack Marshall / 12 Comments

Just when I am convinced that The Great Stupid has finally reached peak stupid and the dimwits, hypocrites and virtue-signaling addicts in Woke World cannot embarrass themselves, society, the culture, the nation and the human race any more thoroughly, something like the “controversy” over Brendan Fraser winning the Best Actor Oscar for his performance in “The Whale” comes along.

I no longer watch the Academy Awards, I had no interest in seeing a movie about the travails of weighing 600 pounds and I’m not all that crazy about Brendan Frasier (though “The Mummy” was fun), so I heard about this a bit late. You see, Frasier wore a fat suit to play the hero of the movie. The actor is about 60 pounds past his physical prime when he played George of the Jungle (a funny Tarzan, more or less), but he hasn’t gotten that fat yet, so this was a necessary device. However, Fat is Beautiful activists slammed the picture, Frasier and the Oscars because 1) the film made fat seem unattractive and—this is the best part—it was discriminatory for the part of “the Whale” not to be cast with a real morbidly obese actor. (Brendan is only obese.)

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End Of Week Ethics Takeaways, 3/27/2023: To Hate, Or Not To Hate

/ Jack Marshall / 4 Comments

This date in 1905 marks one of the most felicitous and essential marriages in U.S. Presidential history, as future president Franklin Delano Roosevelt wed his fifth cousin once removed, Eleanor Roosevelt, in New York, thus unifying the two branches of the elite Roosevelt family. Eleanor, herself an impressive intellect and activist, became her husband’s legs, rock and essential wing-woman as well as his moral compass (to the extent possible, at least). FDR was a pragmatist with natural leadership skills and gifts that exceeded those of all but a few of his predecessors, but he was far from an idealist, as he revealed here and there, often with troubling consequences. What other Presidents would not have reached the White House without a felicitous choice of life-partner? John Adams, certainly; in all likelihood, Lyndon Johnson, Ronald Reagan and Bill Clinton as well. Maybe Obama, but with Adams and Franklin, there is no doubt.

1. You have to admit, it has been an impressive scam, if a destructive one. The Claremont Institute, a conservative think tank and research center, has put together a database tracking corporate America’s capitulation to what the institute calls “possibly the most lucrative shakedown of corporate America in its history.” Spokepersons for the institute reveal in Newsweek that while “most Americans have happily moved on from the 2020 Black Lives Matter (BLM)-driven ransacking of some 200 American cities, which resulted in as much as $2 billion in property damage and at least 25 deaths,” the bounty from the group’s white-guilt and fear-driven squeeze on corporate America has been wildly under-publicized. Claremont Institute’s database indicated that BLM was pledged “an astonishing $82.9 billion to the BLM movement and related causes. This includes more than $123 million to the BLM parent organizations directly.” Claremont writes that the figures, “while shocking, likely underrepresent the true magnitude of the shakedown as some companies failed to make known their contributions, and many BLM organizations remain unknown.”

The figures are even more infuriating than that suit of armor with the huge “Black Lives Matter” sign that I have to walk by with Spuds every day. Among the biggest funders of BLM according to Claremont has been JPMorgan Chase, with a $30 billion ‘Racial Equity Commitment to “close the racial wealth gap.” Abbott Labs has pledged $25 million; Adidas $120 million. Amazon gave BLM and its subsidiaries $169,550,000….all of this to promote racial division, Marxist politics and anti-white racism, without even minimal assurances of legitimate financial stewardship controls.

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Apparently Ron DeSantis Is Unfit To Be President Because Of The Way He Eats Pudding

/ Jack Marshall / 12 Comments

I really thought the New York Magazine article titled “Ron DeSantis Eating Pudding With His Fingers Will End His 2024 Bid” was a joke…even though it appeared in the section called “Intelligencer,” which past experience has taught me often contains the dumbest essays ever contrived by homo sapiens. But it wasn’t a joke. Margaret Hartmann, the senior editor for “Intelligencer” who wrote the thing was serious. Observe…

Ron DeSantis has been hit with a food-related accusation so weird it may end his 2024 presidential bid before it officially starts. The Daily Beast reports that according to two sources, the Florida governor once ate chocolate pudding with three fingers… I’m calling it now: This story will follow DeSantis like pudding sticks to fingers. The devil is in the details. The report doesn’t say DeSantis dipped a finger into his pudding sheepishly; he used three fingers, presumably as a scoop. And it’s established in the preceding paragraph that he regularly ate during meetings, “like a starving animal who has never eaten before… getting shit everywhere.” This paints a vivid picture of being trapped in a conference room with your boss as he shoves most of his hand into a pudding cup, scoops the goo into his mouth, licks his fingers, and goes back in for more, with chocolate still smeared around his lips. Disgusting!

Observations:

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Open Forum! Fight The Tide!

/ Jack Marshall / 29 Comments

Before I turn EA over to the commentariat, I have to say that the erudite and thoughtful people who honor me by checking in here also give me hope that reason, precise communication and intellectual cross-pollination will survive, and productive civilization with it, despite all evidence to the contrary.

There is a lot of that: I just leafed through the first “People” Magazine I have seen in many years (it was sent to my wife as a promotion), and it is profoundly depressing. The pop culture magazine used to have genuine articles; now it is almost completely taken over by snippets of a hundred words or less accompanied by photos of the B, C, and D level celebrities who have split-up or had babies without being married or worn “stunning” clothes at a Hollywood event. Obviously the publication is now pitched to the texting and social media-addicted masses who have the attention span of kittens and the reading tastes of fifth grade drop-outs.

And I thought USA Today had deteriorated! “People” makes the old movie fan mags like “Photoplay” look like “Remembrance of Things Past” by comparison.

There is evidence that U.S. IQ scores are dropping.

I believe it.

And now please cheer me up by fighting the tide with trenchant observations on the state of ethics in the world.

I’ll be under my bed, perseverating…