Not Sure that New Regulations are Needed?

Remember the old joke about the mule.

A farmer buys a mule. The seller tells him when he wants the mule to go forward to yell, “Go Mule.” The farmer takes the mule out in the field to plow, and the mule refuses to move. He yells “Go Mule” repeatedly with no effect. So, he goes and gets the seller, and tells him the command to move isn’t working. The seller picks up a great big board and hits the mule between the eyes, then he says, “Go Mule,” and the mule goes.

The seller turns to the farmer and says, “First, you have to get his attention.”

How hard do you have to hit the public between the eyes before you get their attention? How can you in the wake of this disaster think that regulations as they stand now are “about right?” And what kind of denial do you live in, if you think there were too many regulations in the first place?

James Pilant

Americans Split On New Regulations After West Virginia Chemical Spill

Fifty-one percent of Americans in the new poll said that the government should do more to regulate companies that use, manufacture and store chemicals, while 30 percent said current regulations on those companies are about right and 7 percent said the government should do less. And 50 percent said the government should do more to regulate the safety of the public water supply, compared to 34 percent who said current regulations are about right and 5 percent who wanted less regulation.

…

The poll comes after 7,500 gallons of 4-methylcyclohexane methanol, a chemical used to clean coal, spilled into the Elk River in West Virginia earlier this month, leading to a prohibition on tap water in nine counties for about a week and forcing schools and businesses to temporarily close.

via Americans Split On New Regulations After West Virginia Chemical Spill.

The Freedom to go Bankrupt?

Freedom Industries, its title apparently a hymn to free market fundamentalism, has decided to cash it all in. It’s a wonderful story of the free market in action. According to free market fundamentalists when a company does “bad” things, its customers will punish it by not buying its product and it will go out of business. This will be far more efficient and effective than government regulation; so, we shouldn’t have any. Just let the free market do its wonderful magic.

Well, this situations is just wonderful! It’s a perfect example. We can actually watch the free market in action, and see how much more effective than silly government regulation it is.

Freedom Industries does some seriously messed up stuff to 300,000 people and is held to account by its customers. Well, actually no, it declared bankruptcy and unless you think that is penalty enough (and I don’t) I’d have to say the free market isn’t doing much for us here. Because under free market fundamentalism, that is the maximum penalty.

Under free market fundamentalism, the company could have killed those three hundred thousand people, razed their homes to their ground and poured toxic wastes on their collective graves, and the company’s demise through bankruptcy would be the punishment.

Does that sound fair to you?

Right now, a poll shows a divided opinion on whether or not we should have more regulation. I don’t get it. What kind of example do you need before you get the idea that if you don’t regulate you get just this situation or worse? Hundreds of thousands of people turned on their faucets and out came toxic waste. Are they of no importance compared to the need of industry to make profit?

Do you know what the name of the company should have been?  – Freedom to Dodge Responsibility, Inc. Now, we, Americans, have to decide if that is where the story ends. Are we going to do more regulation or are we going to close our eyes, and hope the free market fixes things.

How’s the free market solved the problem so far?

James Pilant

Freedom Industries, Company Behind West Virginia Chemical Spill, Files For Bankruptcy

The company behind the massive chemical spill that made tap water unsafe for more than 300,000 West Virginians has filed for bankruptcy, according to documents obtained by The Huffington Post.According to bankruptcy filings, Freedom Industries, wholly owned by Chemstream Holdings Inc., filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on Friday. Freedom Industries owns the storage facility responsible for leaking up to 7,500 gallons of 4-methylcyclohexane methanol a coal-cleaning chemical also known as crude MCHM into West Virginias Elk River. Hundreds of thousands of people in nine counties were given orders not to use water for bathing or drinking for days as the company scrambled to clean up, exposing disturbing vulnerabilities in the water supply and a lack of data about hazardous chemicals and where theyre stored. A second site owned by the company was also cited for safety violations shortly after the spill.

via Freedom Industries, Company Behind West Virginia Chemical Spill, Files For Bankruptcy.

The Ethics Sage Looks at College Athletics

Steven Mintz, the Ethics Sage, and my friend has taken on the topic of whether or not our college athletes are actually getting an education. As always, I recommend you go to his site and read the whole thing as well as putting it on your favorites.

James Pilant

Are Colleges and the NCAA failing our Student-Athletes? – Ethics Sage

Looking beyond Willingham and the UNC case, NCAA sports are big business, with millions of dollars at stake for winning programs. The NCAA oversees the behavior of institutions and puts schools on probation for gross violations of the code of conduct, such as recently happened to USC, Ohio State and Penn State. Why should it turn a blind eye at recruiting standards for athlete-scholars and graduation rates? If the NCAA can oversee the way in which college sports programs are organized and run, why not impose penalties on schools with a graduation rate below standards? Of course, the devil is in the details because a school can simply graduate a college-athlete without holding him to the same standards as other graduates.

via Are Colleges and the NCAA failing our Student-Athletes? – Ethics Sage.

The Technological Revolution isn’t just a Technological Revolution

Is modern technology making oligarchy more difficult? It is harder to maintain thought control over a population equipped with the latest gadgets?

I would like to think so. Can these be used to inform the public of business ethics violations and can it cause problems for errant corporations that their bloated PR budgets can’t fix? I don’t know but I bet there are people sweating these new developments.

Jan Huss knew the power of people and the power of words. His followers changed the nature of warfare by using firearms and circled wagons against the heavily armored knights of the time. The power of an informed and aroused population is incredible. Electronics may be the new firearm when it comes to modern revolution, and may we have the luck and conviction that no matter what has been done in the name of money, that these changes be peaceful.

James Pilant

Using Skyfall to Fight Back Against Kim Jong-un | James Jones

Kim Jong-un\’s regime recognizes the threat posed by people like Jeong, and has reportedly been sending security forces house to house, searching for illegal DVDs. Last November, he reportedly ordered the execution of as many as 80 people, some for watching foreign television.

But the formula that has sustained the totalitarian dictatorship — keeping its people isolated and afraid of the outside world–is being challenged by a tide of popular culture and new technology. Along with DVDs and thumb drives, cell phones are now proliferating in North Korea. It\’s illegal to modify them to call out of the country — but using Chinese SIM cards, some North Koreans are taking that risk. They\’re using their phones to communicate with family members who have escaped and over the phone recount their stories about the outside world.

And as footage secretly filmed inside the country and smuggled out for this week\’s FRONTLINE documentary shows, some North Koreans are privately questioning the legitimacy of the Kim dynasty itself, and publicly challenging authority in ways unimaginable a decade ago.

via Using Skyfall to Fight Back Against Kim Jong-un | James Jones.

Jack Kingston Eats Well!

What can you say? The man eats on the public dime but just hates it when children do. Scary.

James Pilant

9 worst right-wing moments of the week — polar vortex edition – Salon.com

A little while back Rep. Jack Kingston from Georgia was eager to teach the poor children of his state the lesson that “there is no such thing as a free lunch.” Not for them anyway. He helpfully suggested they be required to do some janitorial work in the cafeteria for their subsidized lunch. Well, new development: it turns out that there is such thing as free lunches, if you are Jack Kingston.

An investigation by Georgia’s WSAV Channel 3 found that Kingston, who is currently running for Senate had expensed as much as $4,182 worth of lunches for his office over the past three years, the equivalent of about 2,000 free lunches.

Want a little hypocrisy with those mashed potatoes?

via 9 worst right-wing moments of the week — polar vortex edition – Salon.com.

Testosterone Fueled Stupidity Gets Bad Rap!

In the past, men could be men, cruel, powerful, obnoxious, bad behaving bullies, and now it’s all gone. Damn those feminists. We men have had enough! Okay, okay, that’s about as much satire as I can manage this morning.

Here’s the deal, Brit Hume longs for the good old days. I don’t. Christie is a bully. That makes him a bad person. It doesn’t matter whether the world is “feminized” or not, he’s still behaving badly.

As for bad male behavior, read the news. It’s all over the place.

If we could export testosterone, the trade deficit would be gone in a minute.

James Pilant

Hume shocks Lauren Ashburn, blames ‘feminized atmosphere’ for making Christie a ‘bully’ | Crooks and Liars

Fox News analyst Brit Hume on Sunday said that New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R) had only gotten a reputation for being a bully because men could not be \”masculine and muscular\” in the \”feminized atmosphere\” created by the media.

During a panel discussion on the Fox News show Media Buzz, host Howard Kurtz asked if Christie\’s \”bully image\” was hurting him after his administration was accused for closing part of the busiest bridge in the world to hurt his political opponents.

\”I have to say that in this sort of feminized atmosphere in which we exist today, guys who are masculine and muscular like that in their private conduct and are kind of old-fashioned tough guys run some risks,\” Hume opined.

\”Feminized!\” Fox News contributor Lauren Ashburn gasped.

\”Atmosphere,\” Hume nodded. \”By which I mean that men today have learned the lesson the hard way that if you act like kind of an old-fashioned guy\’s guy, you\’re in constant danger of slipping out and saying something that\’s going to get you in trouble and make you look like a sexist or make you look like you seem thuggish or whatever. That\’s the atmosphere in which we operate.\”

\”This guy is very much an old-fashioned masculine, muscular guy,\” he added. \”And there are political risks associated with that. Maybe it shouldn\’t be, but t

via Hume shocks Lauren Ashburn, blames ‘feminized atmosphere’ for making Christie a ‘bully’ | Crooks and Liars.

Cheap Clothes Cost Lives

I recently bought a large amount of antique clothing all from the early 1980’s. I don’t know who the original owner was. It was an estate sale. But the clothing was made in American and some of the finer pieces came from Italy.

We don’t live in that world anymore. Through international trade agreements originally marketed as making us all much richer, American clothing manufacturers disappeared and our clothing comes from the farthest corners of the earth. In constant dollars, what we wear cost less than it used to.

But there is a cost. Many of these foreign workers are treated little better than slave labor and the risks of their work are unacceptable by our standards.

We can by our buying habits and our willingness to convey our sentiments to manufacturers and stores make this situation better.

James Pilant

Blood on our backs | Al Jazeera America

Labor conditions in Cambodia won’t improve unless consumers in the West demand industrywide, systemic change — and companies commit to meeting those demands.

We could start by accepting that we must pay more for our clothes — a difficult shift for many Americans who make minimum wages themselves. That’s why corporations need to step in, too. As consumers, we should insist that the stores and brands we patronize invest more in labor, both at home and abroad, and that factories increase workers’ wages. Multiple studies show that a happier, healthier, higher-paid workforce translates into less turnover and potentially greater company profits. Finally, we should ensure that our elected leaders hold other governments accountable.

We should also shift the way in which we view the workers who make our clothes. It’s easy to dismiss a person’s humanity when she is so far away. But she has a name, like Phearum or Phak. And she has a life beyond her job. She has a mother who needs medicine, a child who needs food and schooling. She is not just a cog in a sewing machine; she is a human being.

In the wake of the Rana Plaza disaster, many foreign retailers and brands promised to improve conditions in Bangladeshi factories. Several deals — some legally binding, others not — committed to better building safety, more factory inspections and greater worker and manager training. These are all necessary improvements, but they don’t do enough. These plans address the workplace, not the human being.

The human being needs help beyond the factory floor. She needs better and more nutritious food. She needs a safe, clean home and books for her kids. She needs a life free from imminent penury. She needs a living wage, not a minimum wage. Her basic well-being rests on everyone — consumers, retailers, brands and factories. And at the very least, it’s in the company’s interest to have healthier, more productive employees.

via Blood on our backs | Al Jazeera America.

State Rep. David Campbell, Convicted for Duck hit and run

This is my second posting on this subject and it might well be asked, why the writer of a business ethics blog takes such an interest in a duck slaughter? First, I just naturally side with the underdog. After all, a BMW has a enormous advantage in a confrontation with ducks. Second, justice is important to me. I want to see that it is done. I suspect that a lot of people have cruelly and with malice and forethought run over animals and have never suffered any consequences. And third, I want this cautionary tale to be spread as wide as possible. After all there are a lot of ducks and a lot of cars. Maybe we could all be a little kinder in our actions regarding our animal brethren.

James Pilant

State rep. pleads no contest to killing five ducks with his car at Nashua hotel, – NashuaTelegraph.com

State Rep. David Campbell told police he consumed two alcoholic drinks before striking a group of ducks with his car outside the Crowne Plaza Hotel last month, but said he wasn’t intoxicated.Police records released Friday show that Campbell, a Nashua Democrat, killed five birds outside the hotel’s main entrance on Dec. 23 before leaving the scene and calling Nashua Police Commissioner Thomas J. Pappas, a longtime friend, to escort him away from the area.After an investigation that lasted 16 days, police cited Campbell on Thursday for killing waterfowl out of season, but cleared him of any motor vehicle charges.Nashua Police Capt. George McCarthy said police investigated all aspects of the case, including the fact that Campbell had been drinking before the incident, but determined the offseason hunting charge was most appropriate.“Attempts were made to try to determine all elements of the investigation,” McCarthy said. “Sometimes circumstances prevent us from, you know, following through with determining certain things, and it’s my understanding, in reading the investigation, that he wasn’t available at the time to speak with us.”Campbell was cited by Nashua police for killing five migratory game birds, namely the friendly mallard ducks that swim in the pond in front of the hotel. Campbell appeared in court Friday morning to answer the offense, and paid a $695 fine.Campbell offered a public apology for killing the ducks, and said he donated an equal amount of money to New Hampshire Audubon.

via State rep. pleads no contest to killing five ducks with his car at Nashua hotel, – NashuaTelegraph.com.

BMW Duck Massacre!

I have been told that BMW drivers are notorious for their misbehavior. This anecdotal evidence supports that theory.

Frankly, I don’t understand why you would want to run your car through a flock of any bird. It just seems mean and callous.

James Pilant

New Hampshire Politician Apologizes After Mowing Down Ducks With BMW | Crooks and Liars

The incident was brought to light by retired Marine officer James Murphy, a Florida resident who was preparing to check into the hotel Monday evening when Campbell’s car collided with what he described as a pack of about 20 ducks in the road.

Murphy said he had just tossed the ducks some crackers when he spotted Campbell’s dark sedan approaching from a side parking lot near the hotel entrance.

“All of a sudden, this 5 Series BMW comes up, it’s going about 15 miles an hour, and then when he gets to the ducks, it’s not like it even slowed down,” Murphy said. “It just crushed all of the ducks.”

Murphy said he believes as many as six ducks were killed and a handful of others returned to the pond at the Crowne Plaza with apparent injuries. Murphy said he followed the BMW a few dozen feet down the road, took a picture of the license plate and called police.

via New Hampshire Politician Apologizes After Mowing Down Ducks With BMW | Crooks and Liars.

No Qualified Women for Thirty Years?

I applaud Apple for deciding to look for women to sit on their board of directors. However, apparently for a long time, one has been enough. It’s time to change.

James Pilant

No Excuse for Apple’s Binders Full of Women Problem | Kathleen Reardon

Thanks to Apple shareholders, the company\’s board nominating committee will now be \”actively seeking out highly qualified women.\” Which raises the question: What has the committee been doing for more than three decades? Apparently the same thing they\’ve been doing about minorities, since the woman currently on the board is also its only member of a minority group.

Worse still, Apple finds it necessary to specify that such women must be \”highly qualified.\” The implication is that they\’re hard to find or that the good ones are all taken. I could have a list, with bios, in 20 minutes. Who couldn\’t?

This is more than a little reminiscent of Mitt Romney\’s \”binders full of women\” comment that revealed how out-of-touch he was with the issue of women\’s equality at work.

News flash for Apple: A woman as far back as 1993 to 1996 was NASA\’s Chief Scientist. You might want to check her math and management skills. See if she\’d be considered \”highly qualified.\” Then there\’s NASA\’s 2013 astronaut class, which is 50 percent women.

via No Excuse for Apple’s Binders Full of Women Problem | Kathleen Reardon.