Category Archives: ethics and morals

PBS’ Frontline on the Wall St meltdown

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Just in case you missed the link in the Center for Media Democracy article yesterday, I wanted to highlight it here:

http://video.pbs.org/video/1302794657/

It’s really important to revisit what happened and who was responsible….so it doesn’t happen again.  We are STILL paying for Greenspan’s idolatry of Ayn Rand…

Bluntly, bankers can’t be trusted to tell the truth.  They cannot be trusted to regulate themselves.  Ain’t gonna happen.  By nature, bankers are greedy and see everything in dollar signs, and as this piece illustrates, if they think they can get away with something, they won’t let ethics or concerns for democracy get in the way.

The subtext to this story is how Brooksley Born was ignored.  A woman not taken seriously….a narrative of sexism.  It’s interesting that she refused to talk about her meeting with Bill Clinton…makes me wonder if he tried to get in her pants and then called her ‘boring” because she refused…or perhaps he was intimidated because she was not only intelligent but principled, as well.  Bill probably doesn’t “get” principled people…sharks only understand other sharks….

 

This on Phil Gramm, who….wait for it….joined a banking firm after aiding the financial meltdown.   And afterward, calling us “a nation of whiners”…um-hmmm….

Frank Partnoy, a law professor at the University of San Diego and an expert on derivatives, said, “No one, including regulators, could get an accurate picture of this market. The consequences of that is that it left us in the dark for the last eight years.” And, he added, “Bad things happen when it’s dark.”

In 2002, Mr. Gramm left Congress, joining UBS as a senior investment banker and head of the company’s lobbying operation.

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Another subtext is the intimidation by those involved.  They created derivatives to be confusing on purpose…and counted on the others to be too embarrassed to ask the question “what does this mean”? Here we have a law professor who understands derivatives, and HE was in the dark about them.

People are intimidated and don’t want to say “I don’t understand”.  I used to be that way, but no more.  Ask away, folks.  Ask away.  And if someone makes you feel stupid by being condescending, then call them on it.  There are some really smart people out there, but nobody knows everything.   And you aren’t going to learn (and understand) anything if you don’t ask questions. If more people had asked questions and raised concerns like Brooksley Born, the financial collapse would have been averted.

More on the ethics of Gramm here.

And here.

Walker Backs Down

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Gov. Scott Walker has rescinded a $500,000 grant to the United Sportsmen of Wisconsin.

You know, for folks who are so dead set against government in their lives, via taxation and regulation, they sure to go out of their way to get those tax dollars while trying to circumvent the democratic process.

The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported that the grant was slipped into the budget bill by outgoing Majority Leader Scott Suder with terms that excluded most sporting groups in the state. The grant was not properly advertised, conveniently leaving United Sportsmen as the sole applicant.

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More Wisconsin news here. 

You’re telling me that citizens throwing pop cans and shouting obscenities requires the use of armed guards?  Talk about overreaction.  Yes, it was wrong for the one demonstrator to destroy the camera, no doubt, but having armed guards with assault rifles is just soo over the top.

What I don’t understand is why  they are allowed in the forest at all.  Why are they destroying what little we have left?  People seem to think that climate change is this thingy down the road….hello, it’s happening now and destroying the forests is one of the reasons.    Why are they not valued as much as the mining operations?  Why aren’t the environmental impacts on the land and water considered as important?

The primary cause of this lasting pollution is acid mine drainage. Mining exposes sulfide-bearing ore that generates sulfuric acid and mixes with water. This outflow of acidic water, otherwise known as acid mine drainage, contaminates drinking water aquifers, lakes, and streams, agricultural lands, and prime fish and wildlife habitat. Because acid mine drainage can’t be stopped, once started it must be treated until the acid generating material runs out. As acknowledged in government mining permits, this can take hundreds or thousands of years.

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Texas’ Freedom of Information Foundation is aiding CMD in obtaining public records that members of ALEC are trying to keep in the dark.

The Fight for Fifteen in Wisconsin.  I think $15 per hour is reasonable and would put us back to where we would have been had our wages not stagnated over the last twenty or so years…

There is just something terribly wrong when a CEO can make millions in income while employees are forced on food stamps or food banks to feed themselves and their families.

Finally, in non-Wisconsin news, CMD has this up on the paper trail of Larry Summers.   I haven’t begun to read all the information here, so I’m off to read the links. …note, however, the link to education “reform”–he’s on the board of the Eli Broad Foundation.  Not only that, but Andy Stern is also on the board–he was head of the Service Employees Union…wow….a union supporter on the board of an organization trying to destroy teacher’s unions and public education.  Just wow.

 

 

Details of violent history of George Zimmerman

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Center for Media and Democracy has this up on the details of Zimmerman’s history of violence against women and interfering with a friend’s arrest.  I know the legal reasons for not putting Zimmerman’s past history up–the law wants to prosecute for the offense at hand, not for past offenses.  I think it comes from two ideas–one being you can’t be prosecuted for the same crime twice (double jeopardy) and two, the country has the view that everyone should get a second chance to change their ways…and a person should be viewed with a clean slate.

However, if they are going to bring up Trayvon’s past, it would seem the fair thing to do would to allow for Zimmerman’s past to be explored, as well.  There needs to be balance.

More sobering news **edited

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I hope my readers understand why I’m continuing to talk about stories like this and this.

…because it doesn’t get talked about anywhere else.  If it is talked about on the major networks, it’s a blip on the screen…but treated as if an afterthought.  Women’s concerns don’t matter, if you gauge it by the attention and action that it receives.

Maybe instead of “Rape Culture” we should call it “Violence Against Women” culture, after seeing this.

Good God.  What exactly was the decal maker’s message in creating this decal?? An experiment, my arse.  And then he tries to play the “concerned citizen” schtick by feigning empathy towards abused women.  Give me a break.    I could hardly stand to watch the video in its entirety–it made me sick.  I would caution against giving this creep donations…probably won’t end up where it is supposed to go.

Would he have thought it okay to create a decal with an African American hanging from a noose? Or an African American hogtied in the back of a truck?

Sweet Jesus, where does it end?

**edited to add:  I went back this morning to read the comments, and others also made note that if this decal had been an African American hanging by a noose, people would be outraged.  I rather doubt this guy would have attempted that.  Someone put up a link for yet another violent decal….so this isn’t something new.  But this does strike home the continuing acceptance of media encouragement of violence against women.  And the commenter “mick” shows how great this ingrained acceptance of violence is….it’s just a joke, what’s your problem..?  (his sarcasm, not mine.)

The Opt Out Movement **edited

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Diane Ravitch reports on a growing movement of parents who are keeping their children home on test day–to opt out of the stupid nonsensical testing of things that can’t be tested…. **edited to add link. Geesh.

In other Ed. news- — Joe Williams, a PR shill for the corporate reformers masquerading as Democrats has been…ahem….schooled.

The facts don’t lie.

More reports of crooks running public education in the ground so they can profit off of it….

From the article on the expose in Maine:

A Maine Sunday Telegram investigation found large portions of Maine’s digital education agenda are being guided behind the scenes by out-of-state companies that stand to capitalize on the changes, especially the nation’s two largest online education providers.

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And the graphic linked to in the article is just mindboggling.  Look at the flow of money!

It still just absolutely stuns me on how the American Legislative Council (ALEC) was able to get away with so much for so long!  Just stunning.

Finally, Teach For America plans exposed.

Susan Rice, Kerry, and Syria

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Susan Rice was on the tube today trying to sell the war.  She tried playing on people’s emotions by saying that she was thinking of her own children as she watched the tapes of the children being gassed.

What about the children in Iraq? Don’t they remind Susan Rice of her children, too? More here.

How many children will be lost if we bomb Syria?

I asked the question “don’t we know how to use diplomacy anymore?”  And it appears that John Kerry was an accidental diplomat when he reportedly made an offhanded remark that Syria could turn over chemical weapons to the international community.  Now the State Dept. says it was “rhetorical”.   

Are you serious?

Kerry apparently wasn’t, but Russia was and is now going to make moves to get Syria to hand over the chemicals.  Well, now…didn’t expect that.

Who would have thought that Russia would have more diplomatic skills than the United States State Department?!

Damn….guess Wall St and the Congress warmongers aren’t going to be able to profit off another war.  (she says with fingers and toes crossed and saying a prayer…)

The Rabbi **edited

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An update to this post….apparently, the Rabbi made a snide remark about Weiner being “married to an Arab” .  Yeah, that kind of nixes one’s self-righteous position, doesn’t it?  **edited to add:  it was Jon Stewart that brought that to light. Sorry, I was tired when I posted last night.)

Doesn’t mean I’ve changed my mind about the rest of the exchange or Weiner’s campaign nor his actions towards women, though.  But he has a right to be married to whomever he chooses without that being a factor in his fitness for mayor.  He’s not fit for mayor for his predator actions and his thinking that exposing himself was a joke.

More from the edumucation files

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Wow. I am continually amazed at what has been going on behind the scenes with the charter school engineers.  Truly amazing how they have been able to get away with it.

This report from a teacher who spells out exactly what my fear is of the nonsense testing that really cannot test potential and does not allow for the obstacles to learning for kids in poorer districts….and then blames the public school teacher for things that are out of their control: student engagement and parent involvement.  The resident troll, teaching economist, has finally revealed he has no clue about what teachers in k-12 are up against.  He teaches lecture courses of 500 students, some of them online.  There is no engagement with classes that size–that was my complaint about my classes in college–no class discussion to enrich the learning experience.  The guy’s a robot who cannot engage in dialogue.

Parents United Philadelphia has this up.

Advice from a money manager….who actually likes public education.

From a comment:

As a teacher with wealthy connections, I can tell you that most of the rich don’t care much about public education either way. They send their kids to private school on principle. The public schools are for the “unwashed masses”. They use private schools to separate their children from the commoners. The old money saw public schools as giving back to their butler’s kids or their cook’s children, and they weren’t bothered by paying taxes (chump change anyway). The new money see taxes for public schools as irritating, and they want to keep as much money as they can, and don’t care about their cook’s children, city children, etc. The “new money” have no interest in community or helping others.

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Spot on. The wealthy do not care about public education. Period.  It has always been for the “rest of us” who cannot or will not put our kids into private schools.   The most annoying thing to the wealthy is that public education creates citizens who are….educated.  Educated citizens cause all sorts of trouble–like being able to carry on arguments against the destruction of public schools; like asking intelligent questions of politicians; of fighting for civil rights….of fighting against things the wealthy hold dear: greed, selfishness,  lack of social conscience…..

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The student who stood up to be heard at the *cough*  conversation with teachers has a blog up explaining what went on.  What a powerful young woman…this old lady was worried about the future generation, but Hannah gives me hope….

(hat tip to Diane Ravitch)

Lastly, a blog at Reclaim Reform on Arne Duncan.  How can someone who failed so miserably be….promoted...?

A student speaks up to Michelle Rhee

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What a brave phenomenal young woman.  Truth to power.

Steve Perry sounds like a real nice guy….not.  Cockroaches?  Really??  Sounds like sour grapes to me…