If you ride on a city bus and use a racial slur against someone sitting nearby you will make the 10:00 news. Count on it. America is hypersensitive about prejudice and discrimination. Now more than ever people are called out for it and that’s not a bad thing. This kind of behavior is intolerable, so why is it acceptable for members of our government who angrily denounce all … [Read more...] about Prejudice Against Trump’s Base From Congress is Intolerable
Government Ethics
When the ends justify the means government ethics is an anachronism. Classic abuses like corruption in office are difficult to ignore and are usually punished sooner or later. Sneaky bad behaviors like spreading disinformation or shaming the nation into agreement on partisan imperatives do more damage and can influence millions of voters.
The worst kinds of unethical behavior are the ones we don’t see coming. They undermine what America stands for and what we believe in. Examples are political rhetoric that distorts the truth, pandering to big money donors, and selecting special interests for legislative favoritism. All of these things point to how government ethics falls by the wayside when opportunity knocks.
What is the Government Ethics category about?
The government ethics category is about what happens when political opportunity takes precedence over doing the right thing. From fake politics to outright thievery, as long as there is money and power to be had government ethics will be an inconvenience best ignored.
Bipartisan Senate Agreement Challenges National Interest
House Republicans introduced H.R. 4760 the day before the s*** storm erupted over Trump’s White House immigration meeting. The Securing America’s Future Act of 2018 offers three more years1 of deferred action without extending any protection to criminals and gang members. One day later, senators talking bipartisan agreement met with the president to fix a problem created not by … [Read more...] about Bipartisan Senate Agreement Challenges National Interest
Bribery is Ethical When We Call it a Safety Net
Can bribery be ethical if you do it for the right reasons? The Chicago Sun Times ran a story recently about gift cards that were purchased for Chicago Public School students and misappropriated by school system employees. The story is hardly a surprise. This is an enormous bureaucracy in a corrupt state that allows the cost of public pensions to compete with educating children. … [Read more...] about Bribery is Ethical When We Call it a Safety Net
Holding Politicians Accountable for Harm: a New Trend?
Are we witnessing the start of a new era in politics where holding politicians accountable for the harm they do is what we expect instead of just an aberration? We’ve seen positive signs this week, ironically the same week that ex-Florida Congresswoman Corrine Brown found out that she’s going to be spending some time in the slammer for fraud. She’s not the only politician … [Read more...] about Holding Politicians Accountable for Harm: a New Trend?
Dignity and Respect in Congress is a Scam Targeting You
I choked on my lunch when I heard Nancy Pelosi’s remark about a climate of dignity and respect in Congress.1 Maybe she is moonlighting at some other congress we don’t know about. She can’t mean the one on Capitol Hill. Pelosi’s comment is just another example of the outrageously inflated regard this motley collection of crooks, liars, and thieves gone legitimate hangs onto … [Read more...] about Dignity and Respect in Congress is a Scam Targeting You