Alain Sherter writes for BNET that perhaps what we should be looking for is a series of steps toward financial reform over a period of years instead of feeling that the very modest financial reform bill passed by Congress is the end of the process.
That’s very optimistic on his part. I consider a solid victory for wall street, a humiliating defeat for the nation and its people. This charade of public concern, private deal making and campaign fund collection demonstrates why American democracy is disintegrating in the face of corporate money.
Here’s the kind of leadership we need and deserve instead of the bloodless passionless leadership we have.
I wanted to put up a video of Mr. MacDonald talking about business ethics. However, Chris MacDonald is a common name. After looking at a famous cyclist, a famous Elvis impersonator, the country singer, the graphic designer, and the meteorologist, I decided to concede defeat. However, since I like including videos, I have one for Chris MacDonald the country singer. He is doing This land is your land, this land is my land. As far as I know he has no connection with Chris MacDonald the ethicist.
Mr. Taibbi has the same contempt for the way things are done in the government and private business that I do. Whatever makes the most money is the only consideration. It takes a lot of dead people or an incredible catastrophe to get the government to react or private industry to change course.
Thank you for contacting me to express your support for “network neutrality”. It is always good to hear from you.
“Network neutrality” means that the owners of the networks that create and provide access to the Internet should not control how consumers lawfully use that network, and they should not be able to discriminate against content provider access to that network. Proponents of increased regulations argue that more specific regulatory guidelines may be necessary to protect the marketplace from potential abuses. Opponents, however, insist that existing laws and Federal Communications Commission (FCC) policies are adequate to deal with anticompetitive behavior and that more regulations would have negative effects on the Internet’s future development and expansion.
In the current Congress, Congressman Edward Markey (D-MA) introduced a piece of legislation, H.R. 3458 that would implement the principle of “network neutrality.” The “Internet Freedom Preservation Act” was introduced on July 31, 2009 and is currently under review by the House Committee on Energy and Commerce. I agree with you that it is imperative that consumers continue to be able to freely access content on the Internet, regardless of their server provider. However, I have concerns that H.R. 3458 would increase the demand for bandwidth while reducing the supply and, as a result, the Internet would have significantly more congestion. Congress has a duty to see that our laws are fair, not only to the companies involved, but also to citizens across the nation that use technology every day. Please be assured I will keep your thoughts in mind as we continue to debate telecommunications issues.
Again, thank you for contacting me on this very important issue. Please be sure to visit our website at www.boozman.house.gov. I look forward to your continued correspondence.
Sincerely,
John Boozman
Member of Congress
This is John Boozman’s ad for his Senate campaign. I do not favor his candidacy but he responded politely and intelligently to my inquiry. This kind of conduct is important in a democracy, so I include his ad.
It’s a sad day. But it’s been years now since the word, reform, became a joke and cover for every ridiculous, mendacious and counterproductive scheme developed by the mind of the bottom dwelling scum eating legislator to squirm along the channel of campaign contributions.
So, we’re getting “reform.” Very little or nothing masquerading as substance. Great. It’s like substituting grass for all those green vegetables in your diet. It looks green. And isn’t that the same thing?
James Pilant
Here’s a video of Barney Frank. He would seem to have not been a reliable prophet of the mortgage crisis.
Pilant's Business Ethics Blog 
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