In a 20-0 vote, the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA for short), the governing body for small colleges, ruled that it was unfair to allow transgender athletes to compete against biological women in women’s sports. The NAIA now becomes the first college sports organization to have the courage and integrity to make such an obvious and necessary rule to protect women’s advances in athletic, as the other groups, like the NCAA, waffle, stall, engage in double-talk and duck the issue while female athletes are hurt.
Yesterday the National Organization for Women, which has betrayed women in this controversy in order to keep its Far Left creds burnished, quietly took down its tweet of last week claiming that “White supremacist patriarchy”was behind objections to cheaters like Lia Thomas (above) dominating female competitors in college competitions. South Carolina’s women’s basketball coach Dawn Staley, similarly bowing down to Woke World and making no sense in the process, blathered that “If you consider yourself a woman and you want to play sports, or vice versa, you should be able to play.” Wags on social media had fun musing about what “vice-versa” meant in that statement: “If you consider yourself a sport and want to play women”? (Staley’s an idiot.)
…because it would have made her cry. Heck, it very nearly made me cry. But as much as I hate posting this awful story of animal cruelty on what would have been my wife’s birthday (I guess it still is) attention must be paid. Attention must be paid, and this vicious asshole needs to be shunned by all decent people.
It is things like this that prompted me to designate Animal Kind International as a charity Grace would be proud to have someone give to in her memory.
That’s Wyoming ethics villain Cody Roberts, 42, smiling and raising a can of beer in the picture above. Next to him is the cowering, terrified, injured wolf he disabled by running it over with his snowmobile. Instead of putting the wolf out of its misery, Cody, who calls himself a hunter, dragged it to a bar with the wolf’s mouth taped shut to show it off in front of his friends, all of whom are obviously assholes too since they didn’t tell him to stop. After everyone had a good laugh, Cody took the suffering beast behind the building and killed it, but not before reportedly torturing it some more, you know, for fun.
After an anonymous tip was received from some weenie who witnessed this atrocity but who didn’t have the guts, integrity or decency to intervene, Wyoming Game and Fish investigated. Roberts was fined only $250 for a a”wildlife violation,” the only penalty that Game and Fish said it had the power to enforce because animal cruelty is only applied to cases involving pets and domestic animals. Yes, in Wyoming it’s not a crime to torture wild animals. No wonder Cody Roberts lives there.
I guarantee Grace would have adamantly argued that Roberts deserves to tortured and shot himself. He’s a monster, after all.
Be proud, Wyoming…as if Liz Cheney wasn’t embarrassment enough.
I don’t think I want to write about this any more. Grace’s birthday made me too sad already.
As I noted in an earlier post today, extreme Trump Derangement rants are less tolerable from genuine professionals of whom the public reasonably expects better than from the Robert De Niro, Bette Midler, Jimmy Kimmel, Rob Reiner, and “The View”-type celebrity pundits who are loud of mouth, large of ego and megaphone, and short of wisdom. Thus the letter Steve-O-in NJ reveals and critiques in his Comment of the Day is particularly disturbing. As you will see, it is sloppy, miserably researched, steeped in emotion and bias, and, frankly, I’m embarrassed for my profession after reading it. That the writer, as he informs us by way of appealing to his own authority, was on short lists for a cabinet position either speaks to the incestuous nature of our political elite, or the frequency of age-triggered cognitive decline. And he wants this self-indicting swill widely circulated! The lack of self-awareness among the Trump Deranged is a source of wonder.
I also need to say that I have not recognized Steve’s often detailed, erudite and perceptive comments frequently enough. I attribute this to taking blessings for granted (one of my myriad flaws): so many of his posts are outstanding that I’m not sufficiently impressed by them any more. My fault, and my apologies to Steve.
Paul Grossman, supposedly a conservative, wrote the following, which should tell you all you need to know about Trump Derangement. He’s is a nationally known employment defense lawyer at Paul Hastings and a Republican. He has encouraged that it be shared.
“April 5, 2024TO:
My Friends and Acquaintances
FROM: Paul Grossman
SUBJECT: The Upcoming Presidential Election
In most elections, candidates differ in philosophical approach regarding how best to solve commonly appreciated issues and shared challenges such as the large federal deficit.In 2024, we are faced with a departure from this normal paradigm in which we can presuppose the integrity of the candidates and their desire for a better United States now and in the future.
For the first time in my lifetime, one of the two major candidates for President of the United States has proven himself to be not just unfit for office but affirmatively evil. I am a Republican. Until our former President came along, based on the issues, I voted for The Republican candidate for President. Ronald Reagan wanted me to run the Department of Labor forhim. I had serious hopes of being Mitt Romney’s Secretary of Labor. I would have happily voted for Nikki Haley over Biden, with whom I differ on numerous policy issues. But for the reasons set forth below, in this election differences in character are more important than the underlying policy issues.
Please vote. Sitting out this election is not a reasonable choice.Is the former President evil? Yes. There can be no doubt. Consider the following: He incited the January 6th riots. He refused to take action for hours that day while watching the riots on television. He has promised to pardon the convicted rioters despite the deaths and destruction they caused. He calls racists “good people.” He still claims the 2020 election was “stolen” – he lost it by 7 million votes. He calls his opponents demeaning nicknames – a tactic used by grade school bullies. He is a serial liar. His trade policy is protectionist – he ridicules serious economists. He has engaged frequently in unwanted sexual touching of females – as he put it in a recorded statement, he “grabs pussy.”
He has been found by a court to be guilty of sexual assault. He avoided military service; at a military cemetery he labeled those who served “suckers.” He initially denied the existence of the recent pandemic. He rejected medical evidence in relation to the recent pandemic and demeaned medical experts. He makes fun of climate change. He embraces nonsensical conspiracy theories.
[My problems with Biden include his age, immigration, the Afghanistan exit, unconditional sympathy for trade unions, overspending, and contentions the wealthy are not paying their “fair share” of taxes. But I must admit despite my reservations about Biden, the economy is doing quite well.]
[Donald Trump] makes fun of people with disabilities. He dehumanizes immigrants – all four of my grandparents were immigrants. Those who have worked most closely with the former President are unstinting in their assessments: He has been privately labeled a “moron” by his First Secretary of State, Rex Tillerson. He has been called dangerous by his former Secretary Of Defense, Mark Esper, who will not vote for him. He has been accused of undermining our NATO alliance by his former Secretary of Defense, James Mathis. His Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao resigned in protest of his January 6th related actions and inactions.
Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell called the January 6th mob violence a “failed insurrection.” He tried to bully his vice president to refuse to perform his vice presidential duty and certify the election results:Mike Pence, an honorable conservative, has announced he will not vote for the former President. He used to be pro-choice – he switched when he became a Republican and needed the evangelicals. He admires Putin and for good reason – both are evil and serial liars.
He could not care less about Ukraine’s heroic stand against Putin and Russia.Please join me in voting for the candidate who is a decent human being, and against the candidate who is evil.
Please forward this email to your circle of friends. I truly fear for our democracy if the evil candidate again becomes President. I think it possible, perhaps likely, that if elected in 2024, as the 2028 elections approach, despite the Constitution, he will do whatever he deems necessary to stay in power. Prominent conservatives including Paul Ryan, Mitt Romney, Liz Cheney, and Lisa Murkowski have publicly announced they will not vote for the former President. It is not clear whether they will abstain. But an abstention or a vote for a candidate who has no chance makes it easier forthe evil candidate to win. Thank you for considering my views.”
Regular readers here know that Ethics Alarms has been periodically critical of just about everything Direct TV does, from its service to its advertising. Just two days ago, I wrote about how I had to protest to stop them from charging me $99 for a service I should not have had to pay for.
That episode ended with my being schedules for a no-charge service call. I was told a technician would arrive between 8 am and noon, and would call first. In fact, he did call first, and arrived at exactly 8:00. He quickly identified and fixed the problem (a faulty router). He was clear, professional, polite, and gave me his cell phone number promising that if my service failed after he left, he would come right back following a text from me.
After a full month of an almost unbroken chain of the opposite treatment by too many organizations and companies to count, on a day that looms as both likely to offer more of the same made more difficult by the fact that it is my late wife’s birthday, attention should be paid, and gratitude must be expressed.
This is already shaping up as “Trump Derangement Monday,” and it isn’t even noon yet. Steve-O-in NJ has a Comment of the Day on the way after revealing a disturbing anti-Trump rant from a previously distinguished lawyer. The lawyer’s Trump-Deranged, Democratic National Committee-endorsed talking points may be slightly more disturbing than the crazed claims “Blackish” actress Jenifer Lewis made when she sat down with Zerlina Maxwell, host of the radio show ‘Mornings With Zerlina’ on SiriusXM, but only because lawyers are supposed to be more responsible and reliable than show business celebrities.
Thanks, Congresswoman! And I actually think you lapped Christina Khalilin the complete science ignoramus race, though you both are tied in the “if the only tool you have is a hammer, every problem looks like a nail” competition.
I want to know who in Georgia voted for this silly, embarrassing woman. I want names and explanations. Maybe DNA. It’s my Congress too…
After that puny 4.8 magnitude earthquake tickled the tri-state area (no injuries, no damage) Greene sent out a tweet claiming that God had sent the earthquake has a “sign” for the United State to “repent.” She also claimed today’s eclipse is another sign from God that the country needs to ask for forgiveness. Greene seems to be in tune with primitive societies that were terrified during eclipses, believing that the moon was eating the sun, or something. People like her allowed Bing Crosby to be declared a wizard in “A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court.”
“The Rock,” as actor Dwayne Johnson bills himself, was scheduled for a paid and advertised appearance before a paying “Wrestlemania” event. Admittedly, anyone who pays to see a farce like “Wrestlemania” is one who is fated to be “soon parted” from his money anyway, but nonetheless: Johsnon was two hours late showing for his gig. Unless one is a victim of a terrorist attack or suffers a ruptured aneurysm, there is never a good excuse for being two hours late to any professional appointment (for that matter, any private social engagement either).
As discussed in January when superannuated pop diva Madonna pulled this stunt, for some reason entertainers seem to think they have dispensation to behave like this. A lawyer who is two hours late for a trial is likely to be held in contempt. If I’m two hours late for a seminar I’m scheduled to teach, even once, I’m out of business. One time, in a play I was directing, the star was one hour late for pre-show call, then showed up 15 minutes before curtain. I told him to go home, that his understudy would play his part than night and maybe permanently.
But “The Rock’ decided that the correct response to the well-deserved booing he received from the crowd when he deigned to appear was to bathe himself in attitude, shift focus to a local football hero’s travails, and show no contrition whatsoever. I get it: he was playing a part, as behaving like an asshole is a long-observed staple of the professional wrestling world, and “Never apologize, it’s a sign of weakness,” John Wayne’s credo in “She Wore a Yellow Ribbon,” later adopted by “NCIS” tough guy Jethro Gibbs ( Mark Harmon) as one of his “rules,” is part of the act.
I don’t care. The two-hour tardiness wasn’t part of the act. Johnson’s one ethical response was “I’m sorry.” Whoever advised him to act like an asshole should be fired, unless “The Rock” really is an asshole.
[Note:WordPress’s AI bot believes I should tag this “book review.”]
“[T]his display of the Vice President’s mental capacity and self-awareness is a warning that extends beyond basketball. It’s deeply disturbing…”
—Ann Althouse, assessing an epic Kamala Harris word salad so stunning that t set off even more ethics alarms than her inane babbling usually does
That’s what I get for giving Harris the benefit of The Julie Principle. I figured, hey, the poor woman is over her head, she’s obviously a dolt, she spews jabberwocky compulsively—what’s the point in complaining about what she can’t change? And then she goes and vomits up this Authentic Frontier Gibberish:
“Do you know — OK, a bit of a history lesson — do you know that the women’s teams were not allowed to have brackets until 2022? Think about that, and… talk about progress, you know, better late than never but progress. And what that has done, because of course — you know, I had a bracket, it’s not broken completely, but I won’t talk about my bracket. But you know what? How we love — we love March Madness, even just nowallowing the women to have brackets and what that does to encourage people to talk more about the women’s teams, to watch them, now they’re being covered. You know, this is the reality. People used to say, ‘Oh, women’s sports, who’s interested?’ Well if you can’t see it, you won’t be. But when you see it, you realize, Oh….”
Last week Lizzo, the Grammy-winning singer and songwriter currently battling accusations of sexual harassment and mistreatment by former back-up singers, announced on social media that she was quitting her epic career. Fans expressed the appropriate level of horror, so five days later she was back, saying that she was not quitting after all, and denying that was what she meant to convey.
This stunt has become a standard PR tool in the music industry particularly. Singers Nicki Minag, Justin Bieber, Doja Cat (don’t ask me who she is) and others have used fake exits to get headlines, publicity and “Please come back!” messages from panicked fans. One of the most celebrated —in all aspects of the word—examples was Richard Nixon’s bitter public farewell after losing the election for governor of California in 1962. “You won’t have Richard Nixon to kick around any more!” he said. Sure, Dick.
My position on fake quitting, or quitting in anger and then regretting it after the fever passes, has always been “If you quit, you’re done, at least as far as I’m concerned, and there are no do-overs.” The same principle applies to threatened resignations. I had many opportunities to exercise this personal policy as a manager or leader of various organizations and staffs. My response to “Do X or I’ll quit!” is an automatic, “Bye! Good luck in your future pursuits!” When I ran a non-profit health promotion organization, two of the original staffers didn’t approve of my polices (I had taken over from the deceased founder and their friend) and gave me letters of resignation. Later, they came to the office like nothing had happened, and were shocked when I informed them that they didn’t have jobs anymore. Apparently fake quitting had been a tradition under the founder. The indignant resignees even complained to the board. Bye!
Regular readers here know that I apply the same principle to commenters on Ethics Alarms. If I ban you, you can apply for reinstatement, but if you quit, or threaten to quit, you’re out, and permanently.
I’d like to see that attitude toward strategic quitting become a cultural norm.
You should remember: it was less than a month ago when I posted this Ethics Quiz with the question, “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?” Something stupid is in the air, and that air has clearly reached Canada. For there is another controversy there about a couple wanting to erase all references to their historic home’s “less than admirable figure” by today’s [woke] values.”
Dr. Arnold Mahesan, a wealthy fertility specialist of Sri Lankan descent, and his wife, entrepreneur and former “Real Housewives of Toronto” actressRoxanne Earle, whose family comes from Pakistan, bought a house for $5 million in 2022 with a Toronto heritage designation in an affluent midtown Toronto neighborhood. The couple is adamant that the city should remove the heritage restriction from their home because, in their view, the original owner held racist opinions. Opinions.
Stapleton Pitt Caldecott, a former Toronto Board of Trade president, built the two-and-a-half story, 9,000-square foot house in 1906. He was opposed to immigration—the current residents of the home the descendants of immigrants, you will note—and also he believed immigrants should assimilate into their new country’s society and culture. Imagine that!
Oh-oh. I agree with that aspect of Caldecott’s beliefs. Well, there goes the prospects of 2707 Westminster Place being designated the “Jack Marshall House”!
“Stapleton Caldecott would’ve been appalled by us living in the house he commissioned,” Mahesan told a meeting of the Toronto Preservation Board, using a variation of Rationalization #32, “The Unethical Role Model.” He also complained that he and his wife only discovered that their home was a designated heritage property last year, when they decided that they wanted to modify the house’s steep stairway from the sidewalk. That fact means that they must have the city’s permission before making any major changes to the property. To this, I say: “Tough noogies!” (and old Arlington, Mass. playground expression). “Let the buyer beware” has some unreasonable applications, but not this one. They paid millions for a house without checking its history and legal status. That’s their misfortune.
Ethics Alarms 