Trump did not spring from the ground; he did not fall from the stars. Neither horticulture nor astrophysics played any role in his rise. Before Trump and Trumpism, there were towns and cities into which he and his movement found receptive audiences. Patients already ill are often susceptible of worse maladies. So it has been…
Ethics
America, City, Culture, Ethics, Never Trump, Politics, School District, Trump
They’ve Become What They Once Despised
by JOHN ADAMS •
The greatest tragedies are injuries inflicted on the innocent. There are, however, other sad moments of our time, among them the collapse of responsibile conservatism into Trumpian irresponsibility & dishonesty. So many conservatives have become what they once despised. A local example would be proud conservatives who now insist, nationally or locally, that government is…
Babbittry, Boosterism, City, Conflicts of Interest, Coronavirus, Culture, Ethics, Local Government, Politics
Social Capital and Hardship
by JOHN ADAMS •
What role does social capital play in a community’s health? Adam Gopnik, in The Paradoxical Role of Social Capital in the Coronavirus Pandemic, ponders whether there’s a relationship between communities with high social capital and a community’s public health. Gopnik uses a traditional definition of social capital as the “parts of society that, without being…
Authoritarianism, Bigotry, Conway, Ethics, Gluttony, Grifters, Impeachment, Kakistocracy, Medicine, Mendacity, Nepotism, Never Trump, Official Misconduct, Sloth, Trump, Trump-Russia, Unfit
Trump’s Condition: Unfit by Many Standards
by JOHN ADAMS •
It’s enough, as an indictment of Trump, to see and then reject his role on purely political grounds: a bigoted autocrat of limited knowledge & reasoning ability with a love of foreign dictators and contempt for American liberal democracy. One doesn’t need a training in medicine to reject Trump. There are, however, compelling critiques of…
CDA, Conflicts of Interest, Ethics, University
On Conflicts of Interest, It’s Not Enough to Ask a Question
by JOHN ADAMS •
The annual meeting of the Whitewater University Tech Park Board was scheduled for this earlier morning, and the second item of the published agenda is a superficial attempt to address potential conflicts of interest among board members: Declaration of Conflict of Interest [Watson] a. Would any member(s) of the board wish to declare any known…
Ethics, Grifters, Kushner, Poverty
Jared Kushner, Slumlord Millionaire, Wants the Rent ‘ASAP’
by JOHN ADAMS •
AJ Vicens reports As the Coronavirus Hit, Jared Kushner’s Company Told Renters to Take Action to Pay “ASAP”: On Thursday, March 19, Westminster Management—which is owned by the Kushner Companies and boasts of holdingmore than 20,000 apartments across six states—sent residents in at least one property a notice about rent collection—but it wasn’t about giving them…
Coronavirus, Ethics, Public Health
A Right – and Duty – of Protection
by JOHN ADAMS •
One does not have to be a member of the Southern Baptist tradition (as I am not) to agree with Dr. Russell Moore’s description of the obligation to care for the elderly. Moore, the president of that denomination’s Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission, writes that God Doesn’t Want Us to Sacrifice the Old to Coronavirus:…
Business, Corruption, Documentary, Ethics
Netflix Documentary Series: Dirty Money (Season Two Now Online)
by JOHN ADAMS •
?? The overwhelming majority of people in America (and abroad) earn their money through honest means. A few, however, profit through fraud, self-dealing, outright theft, or selfish manipulation of laws and institutions. These few corrupt the public and private spheres they touch. Academy Award winning documentarian Alex Gibney’s second season of Dirty Money, now online…
Depravity, Ethics, Never Trump, Trump
He Already Has
by JOHN ADAMS •
It is difficult for reasonable and civilized people to understand the persistent of corruption and disorder in a man like Trump. The rational man or woman – guided by intellect and tradition – assumes that someone of Trump’s ilk is only in the grip of an ephemeral disorder, a passing derangement. Surely, they think, Trump…
Assault Awareness & Prevention, City, Ethics, Misconduct, Sexual Harassment, University, UW System
At UW-Whitewater, Beverly Kopper’s Tenure Was about More than Beverly Kopper
by JOHN ADAMS •
Former UW-Whitewater chancellor Beverly Kopper was on leave – apparently for part of that time under federal or state medical leave act provisions – before her resignation from UW-Whitewater. I’ll not speculate about the circumstances under which she claimed leave under the law. There’s another matter that requires attention. There’s talk at UW-Whitewater these days…
Ethics, Impeachment Trial, Religion, U.S. Senate
Chaplain Reminds the Senate
by JOHN ADAMS •
City, Culture, Ethics, Philosophy, Religion
Perspectives Narrow or Wide
by JOHN ADAMS •
One of the hopes for small-town living is that, among the residents of such a place, one will commonly find plain speaking and humility. Perhaps there are places like this, but sadly small towns, by themselves, are not enough to overcome unworthy pride. On the contrary, within such places, sometimes a tiny faction – confusing…
Ethics, Mendacity, Trump
Reminder: Trump Admin Has History of Falsifying Documents
by JOHN ADAMS •
Trump falsified transcript in 2018 https://t.co/GVnmx8U82P — David Frum (@davidfrum) September 24, 2019 The White House famously falsified this video too https://t.co/hCKEVEFdcl — David Frum (@davidfrum) September 24, 2019
Assault Awareness & Prevention, Crime, Ethics, Law
‘Keeping Harvey Weinstein’s Secrets’
by JOHN ADAMS •
Harvey Weinstein is responsible – directly and personally – for his actions. Others, however, assisted him in concealing his violent coercion. Astonishingly, as the New York Times reports, some of those who aided Weinstein were – of all people – attorneys who made public careers as victims’ rights advocates. The two podcasts embedded below detail…