Author: southwerk

I am a 53 year old teacher. I have double major in Speech and Criminal Justice resulting in a Bachelor's degree from Northeastern State University in Oklahoma and a law degree.

An Actual Journalist!

On By southwerkIn business ethics

https://www.yahoo.com/news/no-rachel-scott-not-fired-172544859.html

I was watching a news program the other day, not one of ours, one of theirs. That is, not a new source in the United States but European. It was one of those roundtables where they bring in journalists with different specialties and they were explaining the politics of the United States.

It stuck out for me. The commentary was at all times insightful, intelligent and delivered as if between ladies and gentlemen. They did not shy from saying controversial things or sharing their honest opinions. They were obviously learned, very well educated professionals.

Now, let me refer to the article referenced above (just below the title) and tie this writing together. Rachel Scott had the courage and professionalism to ask an important and completely relevant question of Donald Trump. Rumors has since been flying about that she was fired. I guess the general impression is that when Trump feels slighted, his internet minions alight like a swarm of killer bees on his perceived enemies and force them to give in. But that didn’t happen here.

And while seeing the minions defied is always edifying and delightful, what is really important is what she did. What was her perceived crime you might ask? She committed journalism. She spoke truth to power and refused to throw softball questions at a major political figure. And people are appalled.

I read the news everyday. And yes, I do realize that this is bad for my mental health but I do it anyway. What is read is always appalling, most common news items are publicity stunts and these are utterly predictable and useless nonsense, although watching Vance attempt to ambush Harris’ was funny but that was an exception. Then there are thinly disguised or just plain open sales pitches — “Did you know this famous celebrity was wearing ELEVEN dollar earrings and where you can buy the very same ones??” Then there is naked click bait, “Twelve reasons cheese is killing you!!!!” If you click on this nonsense you will have to click on 12 separate pages to see what you could find out in seconds on a standard wikipedia page but of course, you have had to wade through twelve sets of advertisements.

And I can go on. But what do I seldom see? Journalism.

Journalism is like what Rachel Scott asked the former President – to summarize briefly, “Why should Black people trust you?” Journalism is articles explaining about and quoting from Project 2025. Journalism isn’t covering the presidential race as an exciting sports event but talking about what the decisions these people are going to make are going to do to our lives.

We need journalism like our bodies need blood. A flow of accurate and critical coverage is essential in our now threatened society.

I’m glad she’s not fired. I’m glad she asks tough questions. She’s an American hero and we are damn short of those right now.

James Alan Pilant

I have included a news article about the interview at the bottom of this article.

Rudy Giuliani Disbarred

On By southwerkIn business ethics

Back in 2001 after 9/11, this outcome would not have been considered possible. And yet, here we are.

Giuliani failed in his duty as an attorney. He lied directly to the court. There have to be penalties for this crime. But how did he get here? How did he fall this far?

I have read that he was never the great man that he was portrayed as. He was more of a mirage. I have come over time to believe that. He was never the man, the public believed that he was.

He had opportunity that virtually no human being has ever had. For a time, he was “America’s Mayor,” the very epitome of what our fellow countrymen thought was patriotic and brave. His future seemed unlimited. Most believed that the White House was next.

It appears that as time went by, the things that made him successful were cast aside in his seeking financial gain and status. In particular, his marriages involved trading up (so to speak) in terms of high society. He forgot where he came from and what he was. Instead of man fighting for justice and a determined enemy of wrong doing, he morphed into at first an establishment politician and then a devoted if not openly slavish follower of the great American mirage, Donald Trump.

Like some crazed gambler, he put every chip, every resource, every shred of reputation, down for Trump. When the former president, needed someone to make the case that there was vast fraud in the 2020 election, he stepped up. He zealously led the charge against voter fraud. He only lacked one necessary item, any evidence on behalf of his case. He had no evidence that wrongdoing had taken place and so not having evidence, he lied claiming that there was evidence.

Here let me quote from the article referenced below:

The court found that the former mob prosecutor “falsely and dishonestly” made claims that thousands of votes were cast in the name of dead people in Philadelphia. He also falsely claimed that people from nearby Camden, New Jersey, were taken to vote illegally in the Pennsylvania city, the court stated. The New York’s Appellate Division, First Department ruled that Giuliani “flagrantly misused” his position as Trump’s former attorney and his campaign to create “intentionally” false statements “some of which were perjurious, to the federal court, state lawmakers, the public, the AGC, and this Court concerning the 2020 Presidential election, in which he baselessly attacked and undermined the integrity of this country’s electoral process.”

I could go on to talk about his other problems and his other failings but this is enough.

It resembles a tale told by the Greeks back during their Golden Age. A man favored beyond all other men, becomes full of pride and acts foolishly, squandering his reputation and ruining his life.

Hubris is dangerous, even today.

In conclusion, what are the ethical rules here? What should he have done? While devoting himself to Trump may be considered unwise, if he had merely acted the role of an attorney and presented the little evidence he had, he would certainly have gained nothing in the courts for his claims of election impropriety but he would have been innocent of any crime. That is where he should have stopped. But to escape disappointing his benefactor, he lied exuberantly about the evidence he claimed to have. This was his moral wrong. It is expected that a lawyer will defend the interests of his client zealously but lying to the fact finding body, the court, is wrong and it is also a crime. And thus he suffers the penalty for this misjudgment.

https://www.yahoo.com/news/rudy-giuliani-disbarred-effective-immediately-175718799.html

The First Climate Tragedy of 2024?

On By southwerkIn business ethics

The death of more than 1300 people at the Hajj in Saudi Arabia is tragedy for the world. First, pilgrims from all over the planet including the United States died. Second, the Hajj has been going on since the 7th century and there is strong evidence that these pilgrimages started in the time of Abraham, but there was no death toll like this caused by heat recorded in all of those years. This is new.

The temperatures that caused this tragedy exceeded fifty degrees centigrade and there were reports of temperatures of one-hundred twenty-five degrees Fahrenheit. And these measurements are expected to grow higher in the years to come as global warming accelerates.

This is just May, The first day of summer is weeks away. And many parts of the United States are already suffering from excessive heat. I worry that this is just the first mass casualty event for 2024. I very much hope that it is not. But while many of our pundits and politicians (Florida) pretend that climate change is an exaggerated threat, the thermometer cares little for political posturing and high temperatures kill.

A few days ago, I read this on my Internet feed: COUNTERPOINT: Climate change fearmongering isn’t working anymore. Let me quote from the article:

Like it or not, climate change is big business. Over the next decade, the United States will spend at least $500 billion to “combat” climate change. To keep the money flowing, the government needs an endless list of scary predictions to keep the alarmist narrative going. The good news is Americans are beginning to realize that they are being lied to about climate change. More and more, polls show that Americans no longer automatically believe that climate change is an existential threat. Because they are starting to lose their hold, the alarmists are resorting to even more desperate measures.

I had no idea that I was a climate alarmist! I have mainly reported temperature events and today I am reporting deaths, a good number of them. On the other hand, this fellow may be right – I just might be desperate. And I am desperate because I am afraid there is little chance of effective actions before millions die.

He says, “Climate Change is big business.” Wow. And then had adds numbers, 500 billions dollars. The fossil fuel industry is 7.2 Trillion dollars. It doesn’t sound very even, does it?

He clearly implied that people like me are part of this “big business.” If he believes or anyone believes that I am making money off this, I don’t. I am just a concerned American worried about the future of the nation. I like to think of myself as a patriot. I want this nation, I want the United States to both survive and thrive.

Temperatures of over 125 degree in this country will severely damage the economy, the environment, our life styles and it will kill a good number of us.

We should do something to prevent this.

James Alan Pilant

https://www.theguardian.com/world/article/2024/jun/23/hajj-pilgrimage-death-toll-extreme-heat-mecca-saudi-arabia

https://www.axios.com/2024/06/24/hajj-heat-deaths-saudi-arabia-climate-health-risks

https://www.vox.com/world-politics/356624/hajj-mecca-heat-saudi-arabia-pilgrims-climate-change-prophet

Disney Fish in a Barrel

On By southwerkIn business ethics
All too easy.

“Call Me Chato” is one of many sites poking fun at Disney’s “The Acolyte.” But there is no sport in it. Like shooting fish in a barrel, there is no challenge in criticizing this awful product. At this point in my life, even the idea of shelling any amount of money to watch a Disney Star Wars product carries the risk of nausea. The films consist of “Mary Sues” who often behave in illogical, irrational and often psychopathic ways. I believe in romance, heroism and remain fascinated by “The Hero’s Journey,” all the stuff that Disney disdains.

So, why am I talking about it today? I must confess I am bewildered. When Disney bought Star Wars, they essentially bought a license to print money just as long as they made movies celebrating the things the made the films great. Why didn’t they do that? Just to pick out the most egregious example, Rian Johnson’s “The Last Jedi” is a thumb in the eye to anyone who at any time found anything positive in value in the film series. I saw a video the other day in which a more skilled film analyst than I showed in excruciating scene after scene how Johnson belittled and humiliated every character in the film.

Again and again when confronted with the values and stories that made the Lucas films worth billions of dollars, Disney does something else. Why? Apparently feminist ideology is more important than story telling and making money. I’m not too surprised by the feminist silliness but the not making money part of the equation astonishes me every time I think about it.

And they hate the fans. They hate the fans bad. This is major hatred. And there is no fan they hate more than one who dares criticize what they’ve done with the Star Wars products. According to Disney, these fans only hate what they are doing because the fans are racist and misogynistic. Really? Bad writing, nonsensical stories and characters that don’t make act logically or intelligently might seem to many like a problem not associated with racism or feminism but I guess not being a fervent advocate of diversity and inclusion — and seeing that world through only that prism may keep me from understanding the full horror of my point of view.

I actually have a different theory about why Disney hates the fans. It’s the writing. Disney wants to change, well, everything. And fans remember the story and they want the rules of the story to be followed. They want Lucas’ vision to be honored. The only thing a Disney writer wants (besides a feminist, diversity cast) is to make a big splash by butchering story elements often when it doesn’t make sense or add any interest to the story. The last thing an enterprising writer who intends to butcher every element of a well established story wants to hear is a fan pointing out their mistake because butchering the star war canon is bad writing and is destructive of an intellectual product worth a bundle of money. And deep, deep in their little, tiny feminist heart, they feel just a twinge of guilt. Not real guilt, mind you, the historical White and Male kind of guilt from the distant past before Disney declared war on the Male Patriarchy — and led women to the glorious future of films they watch in relatively small numbers while men find them repulsive not watching at all but I digress.

When does the horror end? That is, when does Disney return to rational plots and once in a long while, a compelling male character.

Never.

Now, you’re probably thinking, “James, James, didn’t you see “The Marvels?” Disney lost 237 million dollars on that! They just can’t keep doing that, right?”

Wrong. The Disney corporation makes most of its money from its terrifyingly mediocre television channel and its theme parks and these billions of dollars make it possible for them to turn out losing films for year after year, decade after decade, and just maybe, corporations being essentially immortal, maybe forever.

So, what do I recommend?

Give up! Watch other products. Star Wars was good and we will always have the original films. Tune these looney people out. They’re not worth your time or pain or mine.

So, why am I so mad?

I’ll tell you the truth. I raised a son. We watched the Star Wars films together. I took him to the theater whenever possible to see them on the big screen. It was an important part of being a father, a big part of our relationship. And then he saw, “The Last Jedi.” He said, “Dad, that ends it for me. There’s nothing worth watching in that series any more.” And so we no longer share that common experience of a same program and how it was when he was five and watching Episode four with a big bucket of popcorn and actual enjoyment.

So, yeah, I’m mad.

James Pilant

Doctor Who Ratings Disaster

On By southwerkIn business ethics

The last three Doctor Who episodes are some of the lowest rated shows in the entire history of the franchise. That is in all of the sixty years of this formerly successful show. This horrible performance is not surprising considering we went from science fiction to a promotional vehicle for alternate life styles. That’s not Doctor Who.

How about Rotten Tomatoes? A 95% score for the critics and 28% from the audience. When transgender themes are significant in a program, the critics find this novel and worthy of their approval. It’s not novel anymore and dramatic lecturing about how wonderful these lifestyles are does not make for good story telling. The intellectual bankruptcy of modern criticism is everywhere evident and any intelligent human being will rely on the audience reaction.

What should be done? The British should fire everyone and I mean everyone. Fire the showrunner, the actors, the producers, everybody, find the guy the that sweeps up at night, fire him too.

And then wait for the memory of this “entertainment” to diminish in the public mind. At least five or six years until some innocent can say “Whatever happened to Doctor Who?” And then let’s find a new actor to play the doctor, an experienced actor with gravitas and a good track record in dealing with the public (someone who doesn’t tell the audience to “touch grass”). Maybe even someone who performed Shakespeare?

Then above all we have to find good writers who know and love science fiction — and who intend to write science fiction stories that motivate good acting and entertainment. It could celebrate heroism, good deeds and honor. It could tell coherent stories that are each uniquely interesting while being related to the development of the whole. Quality writing for a change.

And if you want a quality show, no one and I mean, no one gets hired because they’re female, lesbian, bisexual or just plain nuts. Hiring is based solely on merit and if the person with merit is a white male, well, we’ll manage to deal with it.

Let’s have a Doctor Who that celebrates its tradition of the human race confronted with the vastness and complexity of space. Let’s see adventure without an unhealthy fascination and advocacy of alternate lifestyles.

James Pilant

Affordable Connectivity Program Ends Because of Governing Failure

On By southwerkIn business ethics
This is a Tennessee focused article but very good.

https://www.cnn.com/2024/05/31/tech/fcc-affordable-connectivity-program-acp-close/index.html

Direct Quote from the article above:

On Friday, the US government announced the final closure of the broadly popular federal program, which has helped tens of millions of households afford internet service, after Republicans in Congress ignored calls by consumer advocates and Democratic lawmakers to approve more funding this spring. The program’s lapse threatens to throw nearly 60 million Americans into financial distress, CNN has reported.

For several years, the federal government has subsidized internet access to millions of Americans, almost 60 million of them. It was a very successful program because access to the internet is a “production good.” If you don’t remember you college economics or never had it, a production good is something you can buy that increases your output. Before the age of the computer that would have been a car (so you could go to work) or a typewriter (for filing applications and sending cover letters or working from home). Internet access allows you to apply for jobs or government benefits, communicate with your employer and learn the rules and regulations in countless fields. It is quite difficult to successfully apply for a job without an active internet connection.

Then why did the Republicans not fund it? I think it is safe to say that philosophically Republicans believe that the government cannot successfully do anything. Perhaps when subsidizing highly profitable industries, they see an exception but not very often. There is also the factor that this assists people of the lower and lower middle class incomes, and they feel a strong need to make these people suffer so they will “learn to achieve like the rest of us.”

If you have been following the news these last few weeks you may have observed that they were also busy browbeating University Presidents, Merrick Garland and the former Surgeon General. This kind of grandstanding takes the place of governing in their minds. Performing important government functions doesn’t get your name mentioned favorably on America’s numerous hate radio stations where every kind of nonsense is spouted as if it were the wisdom of the ages. Our alternate media sources do not find achievement and action on behalf of the public to be compelling topics. It doesn’t push the big topics of the deep state or the coming civil war, so we have a political party basically devoted to inaction and publicity stunts. This is called nihilism.

It was a good program, a successful program that helped millions of Americans go to school, get jobs, maintain employment and learn important skills. It wasn’t very much money and it made a lot of difference but that kind of governing is out of style. Sabotage and inaction are the tools in use here. If we can make the government not work, we can hurt the current administration. The public be damned.

It is ethically wrong, morally bankrupt and a failure of business ethics. But screwing over people while owning the libs is a value among Republicans more valuable than diamonds and gold. So, some teenager having difficulty applying to college because he has no internet access is just another victory over those people who practice compassion and making them suffer is the most important thing in the world.

James Pilant

Japanese Automakers Admit Cheating on Safety

On By southwerkIn business ethics
A huge and apparently continuing scandal.

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/toyota-apologizes-cheating-vehicle-testing-102117211.html

This is a developing story. I would like you to have a look at one of the stories referenced above for more background.

Japanese automakers engaged in widespread cheating to evade certification requirements for their cars. Americans who drive these kinds of cars (five companies are involved) are directly impacted by whether or not these companies follow the rules.

This is very troubling. I read a half dozen stories on this and the business journalists are pretty close to industry cheerleaders. They are not asking tough question merely parroting the company line. And the company line is ridiculous. Basically, they claim that the government is too strict, there are technical violations, not substantive and nothing is really wrong. Cheating on certain models of cars over many years takes a lot organizational effort.

My BS detector is going off the top of the scale. Something is rotten in Denmark.

You cannot convince me that widespread manipulation of data didn’t have a profit motive. And when five major auto makers admit to systematic wrong doing, someone should sit up and take notice. There are many billions of dollars involved here. The situation suggest maybe we should be having a look at whether or not these companies are manipulating American tests as well. I find it difficult to believe that this wrong doing was limited to only Japanese regulators.

In my experience studying business ethics when confronted with a defiance of regulations over years and thousands of products, there is never just one isolated pattern of wrong doing. If it is that big, it suggests a systematic approach to regulatory deviance. There needs to be a follow up government investigation and there should be one in the United States as well. Probably if we look hard, we’re going to find more wrong doing.

These circumstances strongly indicate upper management failures over a long period of time. There should be a hard look at these companies corporate culture of compliance.

(I would like to note that Toyota had a massive scandal similar in some way 14 years ago. That is further evidence in my mind of a corporate culture problem.)

James Pilant

Caitlin Clark is Not a Bitch

On By southwerkIn business ethics1 Comment

https://sports.yahoo.com/opinion-caitlin-clark-not-problem-191203201.html

I am not a sports person. Generally speaking I have no idea what any team is doing anywhere at any time. Caitlin Clark makes it onto my radar because she is an emblem of change, the maturation of women’s sports and the ability of women to be well paid sports stars coming to fruition. I believe it is a good thing, a very important milestone in human history.

Currently we have an insult hurled casually at this symbol of women’s advancement. The phrase in question is “A White Bitch.” Pat McAfee went there. He has since sort of, kind of, maybe apologized. I am very unimpressed. In the course of being on television and being a commentator, there is always the possibility of saying the wrong thing. It’s a fast medium that revels in word play. So, I expect the foolish and irresponsible to be said from time to time with the provision in mind that ladies and gentlemen can err but must take responsibility for their mistakes and learn from them.

McAfee should sincerely apologize. He was wrong.

I have to say that we are in new territory here. I was a very young man when people like Muhammed Ali shot across the sky of sports and changed everything. There was a massive amount of controversy in that era and he was just one of many trailblazers in sports. This is a similar situation. Boundaries are being adjusted and the world is changing before our eyes. For many people, this is difficult.

It is a good thing but the ancient customs of civility and kindness must hold. We are not savages. We cannot and must not say whatever we feel for we are not children. We should say what is appropriate and kind with the intent of bettering and adding to what is known. That is true commentary.

Sports commentary should add to our understanding, not pretend to be shock jocks on talk radio. This is multi-billion dollar industry with many, many implications for our larger culture and in particular how we raise and nurture children. “A White Bitch” is not a phrase we should casually throw out for its momentary shock value. We have a better culture than that.

James Alan Pilant

The Pilots Went to Sleep?

On By southwerkIn business ethics
Let’s hope this doesn’t happen again.

When the title of this video essay came up on my computer screen I was pretty doubtful. There is a lot of clickbait out there and I’m used to lurid headlines designed to get my attention for the all important clicks that will give a site resonance in the online world. But I watched a little of it and became more intrigued especially as the title became more and more likely to be true. The pilots claimed to be working on their laptops and lost track of time.

But it does appear based on the totality of the evidence that that they were asleep. This is very obviously a business ethics failure. And as failures goes very blatant and very foolish. I read and watch a lot of material on air crashes because it makes for compelling stories for teaching business ethics. I have long used the BOAC Comet crash as example of design failure and manufacturing stupidity, the Turkish DC-10 crash outside Paris as an example of failing to fix an obvious and serious defect and the horrid tale of Air Alaska’s inverted last minutes as an example of a failure to perform maintenance. I’m trying to convey practical lessons about corporate behavior to a new generation of students.

This example is pretty close to useless as a moral example. I was teaching college students but if you ask a bunch of six year olds if you should nap instead of flying the plane, bless their little hearts, they are going to say no. They already have enough ethical sense to know that crosses a line.

I recommend the video. It is informative and certainly conveys the government and the air industry’s desire to maintain contact with conscious air crew at all times.

James Alan Pilant

Avoid False Workplace Positivity

On By southwerkIn business ethics
I am not opposed to a good work environment. I am opposed to nonsensical happy talk workplaces.

How to Navigate the Pitfalls of Toxic Positivity in the Workplace (msn.com)

New Study Finds Wishful Thinking Can Have Catastrophic Consequences (msn.com)

I had bosses who insisted on positivity in all circumstances, fortunately not very many. My personality does not lend itself to lies. I am a truth teller often to great personal cost.

But it wasn’t my unhappy experiences with workplace optimism that soured me on it. It was my historical knowledge. The former nations of the U.S.S.R. and the Empire of Japan both practiced forced optimism on a grand scale. Of the two, the Japanese were by far the worst example, promotion and even participation in decision making could be stalled for not sharing a rabidly happy attitude. And the Japanese in the course of the Second World War had a lot to be pessimistic about.

The Japanese believed in their variation of the “decisive battle doctrine.” The Japanese, the Americans, the Germans and the Italians were all followers of the teachings of Mahan, the master of modern naval strategy. Mahan believed that certain battles, for example, Trafalgar, determined the outcome of naval conflict between nations for as much as a hundred years. The Japanese assumed many, many battles were that kind of decisive when they were just another battle. A dramatic form of a truly incredible optimism.

After Pearl Harbor, the Japanese newspapers editorialized that just like Trafalgar, Pearl Harbor had transformed the balance of power in the world and henceforward they would be the dominant naval power on earth. Since Pearl Harbor reduced the margin of American superiority in numbers of warship but did not overcome it, this is quite the claim. Nor does it take into consideration the enormous American building program already underway which would eventually give the Americans complete dominance in the Pacific.

But this is what optimism untempered by reality gets you, foolish decisions and ridiculous opinions. And it got worse. As the Japanese began losing the war, each loss was simply a precursor to the “decisive battle.” So, no loss is that big a deal since the Japanese will eventually win the big one. Even in the final days before surrender, the Japanese military claimed that if they drew the Americans into one final battle over the home islands they would yet prevail. It was all nonsense. If not for the loss of so many lives, it might have risen to level of comedy.

And that brings us back to the subject of American business’ relentless focus on happy talk, meritless optimism and a thoroughly false workplace unanimity. Achievement depends on accurate information. You can’t fool people into doing well. You can rip them off and that happens. But real achievement depends on real cooperation, the use of people’s talents and a willingness to recognize and honor authenticity in the workplace.

It is hard to create a successful achievement model in business. It is easy to do the authoritarian model where “fearless leader” is always right and strides the land like a giant. Workplaces that are cooperative and intelligent are annoying and useless to the power oriented among us and many managers have little talent and less motivation toward high achievement. The simply coast along doing the same old things over and over again.

I remember some years ago reading squadron leader’s evaluation from the Royal Air Force in the midst of World War Two. They concluded that he had reached as high a leadership position as was possible, that he had no natural leadership ability and that they had trained him to the basics of combat leadership as was possible. I remember thinking that in the American college and university systems we seem to actively believe that we can educate leaders when we really don’t know how.

When leadership doesn’t know how to lead, corporate happy talk makes sense. Reality is an enemy to the untalented and foolish. Just deny, deny, deny. Everyone’s happy. Everyone’s successful. Everything’s fine. So, I ask you, my fine reader, wouldn’t actual leadership, actual performance and a strong connection with reality better serve us all both the business community and the larger society surrounding it?

I am told that I will have to publish an article every day for some years to attract a considerable readership and at this early stage, very few if any people will read these words. This saddens me. But I will struggle on. I am speaking to the world and whether or not anyone hears me is irrelevant.

James Alan Pilant