I occasionally read The Ethicist column in the NYT. I think I read the first few because I was fascinated that they just got some guy who seemed a bit more honest than the rest of the people looking for a job at the Times to write the column. I’m not kidding, but if you ask me to pay money to get the introductory column, … Continue reading When is Stealing Unethical? This is a real stumper… At the NYT
OK, I’m just as happy seeing al-Awlaqi meet his maker and however many virgins. But, for those of us who did take the whole FISA debate seriously, and that whole due process rigamarole that the Bill of Rights blathers on about, and as someone who felt the sting of the sarcasm embodied in the bumpersticker wisdom of “Go Ahead, Take My Rights; I Wasn’t Using … Continue reading Assassinating American Citizens
Michelle Malkin reminds us of what Jill Greenberg was up to before she shot The Atlantic cover of John McCain. If realizing that tormenting children is wrong is at the foundations of our moral sense, then her history indicates that she is someone with no moral sense at all. Continue reading I Knew the Name Sounded Familiar
Brian Hollar reflects on happiness and Iceland: While it is true that people in wealthier countries are happier than people in poorer countries, there is only weak correlation inside those countries between happiness and wealth. (In other words, if you live in a wealthy nation, earning a lot of income probably won’t buy you a whole lot of happiness relative to a modest income.) My … Continue reading Hollar on Happiness
Dan Calabrese tells of Hillary’s history on the Watergate investigation, where her supervisor fired her and refused to write her a letter of recommendation—because of a pattern of lying and unethical behavior. (HT: Powerline and Ed Morrissey) Continue reading Hillary’s History
A tragic, real-world dilemma (HT: Eugene Volokh): Alton Logan doesn’t understand why two lawyers with proof he didn’t commit murder were legally prevented from helping him. They had their reasons: To save Logan, they would have had to break the cardinal rule of attorney-client privilege to reveal their own client had committed the crime. But Logan had 26 years in prison to try to understand … Continue reading An Ethical Dilemma
Today the Democrats of the House and Senate approved restricting CIA interrogation techniques to those outlined in the Army Field Manual. Power Line correctly notes that this means that the Democratic Party simply is not serious about the national security of the United States. Over the last 36 hours, Congressional Democrats have again demonstrated a casual, even frivolous attitude toward their Constitutional duty to assist … Continue reading Why I Can’t Vote for a Democrat
The Washington Post reports: Most studies show that wealthy people are marginally happier than poor ones. People with pets or children are no happier than those without. People with active sex lives are — surprise! — happier than those without. No single morsel of happiness data, though, is more intriguing than this: Republicans are happier than Democrats. A 2006 Pew Research poll found that 45 … Continue reading Why Republicans are Happier
Spain’s Popular Party has proposed that women receive tax breaks for… being women! Since parties to its left are likely to pile on board, Spain will soon have a tax system that discriminates on the basis of gender. There’s a radical feminist argument for this, but there’s also a utilitarian argument based on the Ramsey taxation principle: If the demand or supply of something is … Continue reading Should men pay higher taxes than women?
Punxsutawney Phil saw his shadow yesterday, predicting six more weeks of winter. (It’s about 80° today where I am. But I don’t hold that against Phil; it’s currently 31° in Punxsutawney.) When I was young, Groundhog Day was my favorite holiday. (It’s also the subject of one of my favorite movies.) Why? Because it’s a pure holiday; it’s not really about anything. It has no … Continue reading Groundhog Saturday: Six More Weeks of Winter
The View from Alexandria 