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Social Ethics
« Previous EntriesYou want a latte with that handgun?
Friday, March 5th, 2010It can’t be easy to run Starbucks these days. Even before the recession hit, the wildly popular coffee chain had become the poster child for extravangant self-indulgence. All too often, if personal finance gurus wanted to demonstrate how little sacrifices add up to big savings they’d point an accusing finger at the decidedly [...]
Even Tiger Woods is only human
Monday, February 22nd, 2010It’s been an interesting few days, as I’ve found myself discussing Tiger Woods’ apology with interviewers from across the U.S., Canada and Europe. More than a few people have criticized the apology as being too “scripted” or dissed Woods’ delivery as too “wooden.” A handful of angry critics have refused to accept the apology [...]
The ethics of snow days
Monday, February 8th, 2010Washington, D.C. and its suburbs were buried over the weekend in more than two feet of snow. That may not be a lot by Midwestern standards, but the capitol region rarely sees much of the white stuff and our local governments aren’t equipped to deal with it. Schools were shut tight, the federal [...]
Who really deserves Rahm Emanuel’s apology?
Friday, February 5th, 2010Hot-headed White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel has been making headlines again. According to news reports, Emanuel lost his cool at an August meeting of White House aides and liberal groups, dismissing as “f—ing retarded” some attendees’ idea of airing ads attacking conservative Democrats who opposed the President’s health care overhaul proposal. [...]
There may be ethical issues with Haitian relief - give anyway!
Thursday, February 4th, 2010Is there anyone on the planet who doesn’t know that the already impoverished nation of Haiti has been reduced to a mountain of rubble by an earthquake? The stories and pictures coming out of Haiti are absolutely heartbreaking. Hundreds of thousands have died, families have been separated, almost anything resembling a building has [...]
When everybody needs to apologize, somebody has to go first
Tuesday, February 2nd, 2010Yesterday, I had the pleasure of appearing on Rev. Doug Bursch’s “Live From Seattle” KGNW radio program. Rev. Bursch asked me to come on the show to address a sorry situation in the Washington State Legislature. Seems that one bad-tempered legislator chewed out the staff of her party’s caucus. Several of her [...]
Is McDonald’s abusing the legal system?
Wednesday, January 27th, 2010The attorneys at McDonald’s certainly seem to be of the “take no prisoners and damn the torpedoes” school of legal thought. The fast food giant has had Egg McMuffin all over its corporate face on two separate occasions this week. There was the employee in the Netherlands who successfully sued McDonald’s for firing [...]
Will special interests abuse campaign contributions?
Monday, January 25th, 2010The Supreme Court stunned the nation last week with its decision to allow corporations to exercise free speech rights by running election campaign ads. Suddenly, huge companies and unions with millions to spend will be able to innundate voters with a tidal wave of attack ads targeting candidates who oppose their interests. Less [...]
The Ethics of “Avatar”
Wednesday, January 20th, 2010Recently, I had the pleasure of seeing James Cameron’s new blockbuster, “Avatar.” Cameron has given us the mythical planet Pandora, a confection of a world, sparkling with a million gorgeous colors and lit with magic from within. Of course, it’s also a source of a valuable mineral that covetous corporate executives and military [...]
Please, corporate America, help out in Haiti!
Friday, January 15th, 2010Today, I’m interrupting my Friday series on keeping your business out of court to focus instead on the mounting crisis in Haiti. Apparently, as many as fifty thousand people have died in the wake of the earthquake that demolished the island four days ago. According to news reports this morning, the people of Haiti [...]
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