Perfectly Legal, But Wrong
When “perfectly legal” is a lame excuse for doing the wrong thing
Society and Politics
Jeffrey Epstein’s Army of Attorneys
It is clear to most informed readers that no real justice was done in Jeffrey Epstein’s 2006 federal case. In that case, given to the FBI when Palm Beach police became convinced that state prosecutors were soft-peddling Epstein’s activities, Epstein was accused of...
Loyalty, Lies, and the Rule of Law
Our U.S. Attorney General has become the Attorney in Particular. The particular? Bill Barr is now clearly loyal to one person, and not to the people of the United States, or even the U.S. Constitution....
“Capitalism, Socialism, and Freedom” in the Trump Era
by Don Mayer March 23, 2019 Republicans are in attack mode against some Democratic candidates for election in 2020. By calling them “socialist,” they hope to brand them as less-than-fully-American, not “freedom loving” enough, and thus unelectable. But...
“Too Bad, So Sad” –– The “Swamp” is Not So Easily Drained
by Don Mayer As a Presidential candidate, Donald J. Trump promised to “drain the swamp” –– an ambiguously appealing pledge that meant different things to different people. But it sounded good. (The weather in DC is notoriously swamp-like in summer; and, as the...
Our “Repugnant” Two Party “System”
We often ask, “Why can’t Congress get anything done?” Part of the answer is that in the U.S., there have usually been only two parties, and bi-partisanship seems to have ebbed since the three decades after World War II. We’ll return to that by and by, but...
Oh, Pardon Me!
President Trump’s use of the pardon power has gone beyond all precedent into an area best described as both petty and partisan, and has abandoned the usual process for granting such pardons. He is within the law (barely) but also perfectly wrong from a moral point of view.
Silence is (Not) Golden
Silence, and deep listening, is an important aspect of doing and feeling “right” with yourself and others. But there are times when only a loud, persistent voice of protest can bring justice. Those who are silently complicit are usually not in legal jeopardy, but morally must not remain silent.
Facebook’s Fake News Problem
Facebook’s “News Feed” created a space for disinformation from Russia and other sources in the 2016 election. The problem remains, and although the company was ‘legal” in what it did, was it wrong? How wrong?
When the Tweet Hits the Fan
It is the week before Christmas, 2018. President Trump issued another “tweet” two days ago about removing all U.S. troops from Syria. Nothing illegal about that; it makes sense that a U.S. president heads foreign policy, with the advice and consent of the...
Kissing and telling most everyone: Morals of the kiss cam
Many of us have never considered the behind the kiss cam, and I certainly had not until this August when I heard two sports jocks complaining that the Dodgers “Kiss-Cam” was not nearly as spontaneous as people at Dodger Stadium might think.
Turns out that the kiss-cam crew goes around to appealing people and families, has them re-arrange their seating order (if need be) and gives the woman time to put on make up and prettify their hair. We can assume the men do some primping as well.