Tag: corruption

By Posted on Posted in Activism, Democracy, Ethics in Government, Mindset, Politics, propaganda, Protests and Crackdowns, Psychology, Social and Economic Justice, Transparency vs. Secrecy Tagged with , , , , , , , , , , ,

Today, the United States of America marks the 248th anniversary of its founding. But this, year, I can’t celebrate.

But Monday, on its last day of the term, a bizarre Supreme Court decision essentially returned the country to monarchy. They put one person—the President—above the law, immune from prosecution even for extreme corruption and extreme violence, as long as they were acting in an official capacity.

In a stinging dissent joined by Brown and Kagan, Justice Sotomayor examined the consequences:

Orders the Navy’s Seal Team 6 to assassinate a political rival? Immune. Organizes a military coup to hold onto power? Immune. Takes a bribe in exchange for a pardon? Immune. Immune, immune, immune.

As Heather Cox Richardson noted, this case is legally known as Trump. v. United States. How apt.

It’s worth reading the original accusations in Thomas Jefferson’s Declaration of Independence that we mark today; many sound amazingly relevant, especially if Trump manages to gain power again.

Like our forbears of 1776, we are once again called to resist tyranny. But today, we know that nonviolent resistance is more effective and longer lasting than armed struggle. And we know more than 200 ways to be nonviolent activists. In the pre-Internet, pre-pandemic era. Gene Sharp identified 198 ways. Many more have been found in recent years. The challenges are figuring out what makes strategic sense against a corrupt Supreme Court, how to organize to prevent a Trump victory, and what to do if he does take power again.

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By Posted on Posted in Business Ethics, Consumer Issues, Democracy, Diversity, Ethics in Government, language, Politics, Transparency vs. Secrecy Tagged with , , , , , , , ,

The Washington Post’s Robert Kagan outlined a dismal road to fascism if DT is somehow elected in 2024. Read his piece and then come back here:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2023/11/30/trump-dictator-2024-election-robert-kagan/ 

DT is likely to win the nomination, yes. And should he win in November, a second DT presidency would be far, far worse than the train wreck of his 2017-2021 term. The one thing DT tends to be truthful about is his penchant for cruelty and vengeance. His own and his advisors’ statements have made it clear that they intend to destroy the surviving parts of US democracy, seek revenge on anyone they see as an enemy, and create an authoritarian state that would imprison or deport opponents.

But Kagan is forgetting something really important: Winning the nomination is not the same as winning the election.

MAGA Republicans will nominate him, but moderate Republicans, Independents, swing voters, and of course, Democrats will not support another DT presidency. Add to that the millions of new young voters since 2016, the interest groups DT continues to alienate, and those who remember the DT years for the chaos, the dysfunction, the sowing of hatred against people of color, LGBT folks, women, scientists, Muslims, and oh yes, the attempted coup. Those who value women’s reproductive rights, voting rights for urban Black voters, diversity, education, religions other than White Nationalism disguised as a warped form of Christianity, the US’s status as a world leader, a Supreme Court that values settled precedent, and even ethical capitalism can find no home in a Republican Party led by a self-admitted sexual predator, a serial liar with 30,573 documented falsehoods just during his four years in the White House, an open bigot, a man who faces 91 criminal charges in multiple jurisdictions and has already been found to have committed fraudulent business practices, a deadbeat who doesn’t pay his bills and has no loyalty to even his most loyal henchmen, a man who continuously used the presidency for his/his family’s financial gain, who even his own first Secretary of State called a moron.

It is true that Biden will be a hold-your-nose choice for many. I am not happy with his horrible immigration policies, his greenlighting of environmentally destructive fossil fuel projects, and his lack of ability to curb violence against civilians in other parts of the world. But we don’t have ranked-choice voting in the US, and until we do, a vote for a third-party or a choice not to vote is a vote for DT, for authoritarianism, and quite possibly for fascism. I think enough people will realize this truth that if voters are allowed to vote and votes are counted honestly, DT will not win.

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By Posted on Posted in Peace and War, Politics, Shel's Personal Life Tagged with , , ,

I am one who thinks Donald Trump is the worst thing to happen to the United States of America in my lifetime, maybe in history. He has wrapped his presidency in–and pushed the country’s culture toward–bullying, bigotry, broken promises, and baksheesh (money corruption). He has no grasp of policy and seems to be governed (and governing) by whim. He takes a scary number of memes from the Nazis. He appoints people who are ruthless, openly corrupt, and bent on sabotaging all the progress of the past 80+ years. I’ve marched in the streets opposing his policies dozens of times since he was elected.

Climate marchers in front of Trump Hotel, Washington DC 4-29-17 (photo by Shel Horowitz)
Climate marchers in front of Trump Hotel, Washington DC 4-29-17 (Clamshell Alliance’s spiritual heirs)

Yet, unlike some Democrats–it’s not just Republicans who can put building their party ahead of building their country and their planet–I publicly congratulate him for agreeing to the summit with Kim Jong Un, and I pledge to publicly congratulate him if some genuine good comes out of it. We have to talk with our enemies to make peace with them. I’d like to see a similar summit with the Iranians.

Much as I’d be thrilled if it happens, my expectations of something great occurring at this meeting are low. I’m expecting these two dangerous madmen to shout and grandstand and at best not accomplish anything, at worst, push us closer to nuclear war. Go ahead, Donald, make my day: prove me wrong!

[Postscript, June 12, 2018]. I have just seen the declaration issued by the US and North Korea following the summit. While the accord is very weak on specifics, I think it’s a strong first step. It might even be the first actual good thing of the DT presidency. As a statement of intent, it is eloquent. Now of course we have to see how it’s implemented and whether it’s more than hollow rhetoric. Anyway, I am keeping my promise and praising this agreement. It’s more than any other president has accomplished on North Korea. But it’s only the first step in a long process.Facebooktwitterpinterestlinkedinmail

By Posted on Posted in Business Ethics, Ethics in Government, Ethics-International, Ethics: General Tagged with , , , ,

Exactly how did Bernie Madoff steal his billions? Why are Halliburton’s hands so dirty? What happened with corruption cases in the rebuilding of Iraq? Following a link from EthicsWorld’s e-newsletter, I came to a single URL that has multiple stories on corruption: https://www.ethicsworld.org/publicsectorgovernance/corruptioninvestigations.php#sec.

This is what we’re up against, those of us who believe in ethics.Facebooktwitterpinterestlinkedinmail

By Posted on Posted in Business Ethics, Ethics in Government, General Commentary, Marketing Trends/News, Media Ethics, Politics, Shel's Personal Life, Social and Economic Justice Tagged with , , , , , ,

Been spending some time on Huffington Post this morning, always a fascinating place. Here’s some of what I’ve been reading:

Oregon’s Senator Jeff Merkley on Republican strategist Frank Luntz’s plan to derail health reform. What he doesn’t talk about is single-payer, which I believe could engage the strong support of the American people and roll right over all the roadblocks put there by industry lobbyists–while piecemeal “reform” would gain no such support. I do not understand why mainstream Democrats aren’t pushing this issue. It’s key to a raft of economic boosts that would help, for instance, both US automakers and labor. It’s little-talked-about that because most governments around the world, at least in developed nations, provide a real health care service, foreign competitors to GM, Ford, and Chrysler aren’t stuck with that enormous cost.

Robert Borosage on the general climate of business corruption in Washington. And on how that corruption has caused us to fail in such areas as mandatory sick leave, which then in turn makes the “stay home” response to swine flu impractical for those at the bottom of the ladder, who might lose their jobs and would certainly lose their pay.

Apparently some right-wing pundits have nothing better to do than attack Obama as elitist because–are you sitting down?–he likes Grey Poupon or Dijon mustard on his burgers! Give me a break! You can buy the stuff for two dollars a bottle at a discount store, and it sure does taste a lot better than the yellow glop that’s largely turmeric. I say unto them: get a life!

Stephen Colbert’s very funny video spoofing the big too-big-to-fail bailouts; no commentary necessary from meFacebooktwitterpinterestlinkedinmail