The Grandparents’ Betrayal

/ Jack Marshall / 6 Comments

As often happens, some click-bait headline sucks me in and I find an interesting ethics topic as a result. This time, the headline was “Woman applauded for demanding parents get noses pierced before they can see granddaughter again.” What???

The story behind that unique description was a woman and her husband took her infant daughter to Mexico to visit her parents. The parents gave the one-year-old girl a pair of earrings for her first birthday, and Mom told them that she would hold on to the gift until her daughter was old enough to have her ears pierced. But when the American couple returned from meeting some friends after leaving the girl in the care of Grandma and Grandpa, they were informed that they “didn’t need to wait [until she was old enough] because they had taken her to get her ears pierced” already.

The couple was furious. The girl’s father said that they could never trust the grandparents alone with their daughter, but his wife announced that she would not take her or any future kids to see her parents in Mexico. The family checked out of their hotel and returned to the States.

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The Democrats’ Orgy of Bad Ethics in the Hur Hearing

/ Jack Marshall / 9 Comments

One of the late Justice Scalia’s favorite derogatory shots was to write that the author of a particularly weak legal argument (in his assessment) should hide his head under a bag. I would hope that any Democrat watching the astounding displays of “whataboutism,” “It isn’t what it is,” “gotchas” and ad hominem attacks by their party’s House members would have bags on their heads this morning. How ugly. How dispiriting. How stupid and desperate! How can they continue to support these people?

Prof. Turley, who has emerged in recent years as one of the very few fair, objective and non-partisan political analysts in academia and the legal profession, correctly but too-kindly described the Democrat attacks on the Special Counsel Robert Hur during the congressional hearing on his report on President Biden as “delusional.” The conduct of the worst of the Democrats was much worse than that.

Rep. Gerald Nadler, for example, thought that Donald Trump’s assorted verbal gaffes were relevant to Hur’s report, so he showed a super-cut of them as a preemptive strike, or something. Hur’s report and investigation didn’t involve Trump (I would have ruled Nadler’s cherry-picked video out of order if I had the gavel), and even if it did, Nadler’s intended message was gaslighting: Biden’s mental decline is literally on display every day, every time he speaks or moves. Democrats like Nadler are committed to denying the obvious and trying to shift attention to Trump, who, unlike Biden, has a typical percentage of verbal missteps for any public speaker who emotes spontaneously or frequently. (A Nadler-style compilation could be made of Barack Obama’s gaffes. Or mine.) Nadler and his minions even stooped to including a clip in which Trump said he did not remember saying he had a great memory. Back in 2015, Ethics Alarms discussed several episodes in which Trump either contradicted what he had said earlier or denied that he said it. Nobody who babbles unfiltered like Donald Trump could possibly remember everything he has said. This “gotcha!,” like the rest of the video, was meaningless.

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DEI Ethics Train Wreck Update: “Where Are the Black People in Shogun?” and More

/ Jack Marshall / 3 Comments

African American writer William Spivey apparently had no compunction about writing a non-satirical essay in Medium and the web magazine “Level” with the title,”Where Are the Black People in Shogun?” This means that he didn’t think the headline and multiple statements in the article would make rational readers laugh coffee out of their noses. It also means, I think it’s fair to conclude, that he has been conditioned/indoctrinated not to be able to enjoy any dramatic presentation that doesn’t include “people like him,” narrowly defined in his case as “people who are the same color or a reasonable approximation thereof” rather than “human beings with emotions, feelings, thoughts and activities that we all can relate to, learn from and find engrossing, entertaining, moving or enlightening.”

I very much doubt that Aristotle, who thought a lot about such matters, would be writing laments headlined, “”Where Are the Athenians in Shogun?” even if he had been bombarded with DEI and woke craziness like we have been. After all, Aristotle had an independent and logical brain that wasn’t easily overwhelmed.

The headline and the essay also mean that the poor guy is incapable of enjoying a good story and dramatic presentation (Everyone’s saying that the “Shogun” remake is good; I haven’t see it). His attention always goes immediately to bean-counting demographics, because he believes that “diversity” must be imposed on every aspect of our existence whether it makes sense or not. I feel sorry for him; I also feel sorry that his ilk are multiplying around us like cancer cells.

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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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