Tag: travel

One Man Protected the Sword of Eisenhower from Being Given Away

On By southwerkIn Business Ethics, Capitalism, Government Failure

And then he was forced to resign.

He was told “Resign or be Fired.”

Todd Arrington refused to give up one of Eisenhower’s swords so our current regime could give it to King Charles III.

So, we the American people retain our property, one of the prized possessions of a famous soldier and former President of the United States.

This is one of those times I wish I knew nothing about ethics, honor and righteousness. If I didn’t know, I would not know the depths to which a nation has to sink for a man to stand with honor and do his job and I might, do his job well strongly evidencing courage and then see him constructively fired.

What kind of people when looking around for gifts for foreign royalty goes to the preserved treasures of our heritage, our history, and says “Let’s get one of those!” What kind of people want to grab an item from our museums and historical collections so that we might flatter the faltering and flawed royalty of another nation and gratify the thoughtless greed of the President and those around him?

On the plus side, the sword was saved. On the negative side, our nation’s lack of leadership and the all consuming grasping greed of our current government is on display once again. .

(Eisenhower trained a tank unit for World War I and was deployed to France in 1918, before he arrived the armistice was signed.)

Here is a link to a news story on the subject written by Ed O’Keefe for CBS News.

https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/head-eisenhower-library-resigns-sword-110206460.html

It is entitled: Head of Eisenhower library resigns after sword spat with Trump administration

Todd Arrington, a career historian who previously held posts with the National Park Service and National Archives and Records Administration, said he stepped down on Monday under pressure as director of the Dwight D. Eisenhower Presidential Library, Museum and Boyhood Home.

In an interview with CBS News, Arrington said he was told on Monday, “Resign — or be fired.”

This story concludes with the following two paragraphs.

The 52-year-old said he is less than five years away from retirement eligibility and is hoping to find a new job at a different federal agency.

But, he said, “If there’s any way for it to happen, I’d return to this job in a heartbeat. I love the job, I love the people, I love the history. I never in a million years wanted this to happen.”

As a business ethics expert, I am appalled. If you get into the weeds of the story, there are the usual denials of White House responsibility we have come to know so well. And once again, the clear message sent directly by this administration is that any form of opposition will not be tolerated. What this administration wants and desires are to be yielded to under all circumstances as if it were the law.

But this administration lives for revenge and payback. (Is it not written that we are to forgive our enemies?)

This is wrong. This is unethical. This is a violation of dozens of systems of morality. This is petty and pathetic.

We should honor the man and women who do their jobs with pride and serve the interests of the American people.

What kind of nation punishes those that follow the way of duty? What kind of nation seeks vengeance for every act that offends the President?

The answer is the one we have now – honorless, crude, grasping and incompetent.

James Alan Pilant

I’m Overwhelmed.

On By southwerkIn Government Failure

I haven’t written for several days and I try very hard to write every day. So, what gives?

I heard the President’s speech at the United Nations.

Let me explain.

From the time that I was in my early teens, I read speeches. I found this enormous book of famous speeches everything from Hitler to Churchill I practiced Patrick Henry, Robert Ingersoll and Woodrow Wilson among many others.

I grew up in rural Northeastern Oklahoma and I would go out in the woods and practice public speaking. The art of setting the mood and driving home your point, I studied with relish.

I’ve probably given several hundred speeches in my life and if you count lectures, several thousand.

So, what is it about our current regime’s leader that has me upset?

His speech was crazy, unhinged and total nonsense. I wracked all my knowledge, all my experience and every memory trying to think of anything like it I have ever heard and came up empty, that is, for the first day. The second day, it came to me – where I had heard that speaking style before. It was Uganda’s Idi Amin.

I went and pulled some of Amin’s speeches and there are some similarities although Amin appears to use much more complex sentences and is able to maintain a central theme for entire paragraphs. So, while they share a common theme of despising ethnic minorities and imagined enemies and a certain delight in cruelty, it is fairly obvious that as speech making go, Idi Amin is the superior speaker.

So, the worst speaker I can think of in the history of humankind is not as bad a our current leader. In my estimation no speaker have ever been this bad. I am sure he will be pleased to hear that he is best at something.

I am unhappy about this. I am depressed about the state of this nation that our leader sounds like an escaped mental patient with truly legendary delusions.

If this wasn’t upsetting enough, watching coverage of this speech on various news outlets ,I saw that they “sane washed” this monstrous presentation.

Let me repeat that. A madman uttered completely insulting and cruel nonsense to an international audience and much of American media attempted to explain what he meant as if he was expressing some kind of coherent thought.

So, I haven’t written for a few days.

I read the other day that we have some 400 days to save our democracy. It seems to me that I should write as often as possible during that period. I have a duty to my nation to not take these horrors in silence and I will not.

James Alan Pilant

Wow, We Bought a Castle – Grifting Can Be Fun!

On By southwerkIn Business Ethics

I must admit that I think this whole thing is hilarious. Probably thousands of people and organizations coughed up millions of dollars thinking not unreasonably that the money would be used for advocacy. The organization advertised itself as anti-immigration so they were probably thinking television commercials, editorials, books and articles, maybe a documentary. But that would have been a mundane and common use for monetary contributions. Instead of that silly advocacy stuff they bought a castle in West Virginia. I promise I had no idea that West Virginia participated in the Medieval Period but there it is, a real castle. It must have been a lonely existence waiting for America to be discovered.

(More of a French Chateaux but close enough. I have no concept of what a West Virginia castle looks like.)

Satire aside, maybe this is one of those apocalyptic preparations for the end times. We might eventually see pure-bred Anglo-Saxons pouring hot oil on rappers and Hispanic gardeners, and maybe even hordes of seasonal farm workers.

Buying a castle is probably pretty tempting even if you don’t think the world is ending any time soon. And you can live in the thing which has to be nice. The views are probably amazing.

Twenty some years ago, I found at article about a Republican’s Congressman’s wife who had set up a Political Action Committee with the stated intention of collecting money for Republican candidates. Hundreds of thousands of dollars were used for “administrative” costs and nearly twenty dollars was raised for the electioneering part.

After some reflection I did not write about it. As far as I could tell that money not going to those candidates was an excellent outcome and I was content.

And I must admit I’m very content with this one, too. As long as they aren’t spending the money for a cause I disapprove of, I’m just fine. Let them buy another castle, they can buy lots and lots of stuff, do some fine dining and take home some champagne afterwards.

When the right wing is out for the grift, all of America benefits.

James Alan Pilant

The article below is quite good and I recommend you go to its home and read the whole thing. jp

Kara Scannell writing for CNN reports that civil charges have been filed alleging that – Far-right activists ‘looted’ corporate assets to buy a castle, NY AG says.

The New York attorney general’s office filed civil charges against far-right anti-immigration activist Peter Brimelow and his wife for allegedly misusing more than $2 million in assets, including a West Virginia castle, from a charitable foundation they run.

Brimelow founded VDARE, whose website has been a platform for white nationalist and anti-immigration viewpoints, and ran it with his wife Lydia until he suspended it in 2024 because of NY AG Letitia James’ investigation into its finances.

The lawsuit alleges the Brimelows used $1.4 million dollars of VDARE funds to acquire a castle complex in Berkeley Springs, West Virginia. They moved into the castle, transferred it to two entities they controlled and charged VDARE rent and fees for use of the space, according to the lawsuit.

A Trojan Dog in Taiwan?

On By southwerkIn business ethics

Taiwan is claimed by China under a sort of “lost province” narrative, which I don’t buy into.

So, bearing that in mind, should Hammer Lee (a kind of Marvel Superhero name – got to give credit, that is one great name!) have acquired a Chinese built robot dog to patrol the streets of the city of Taipei. It might seem to the casual observer that the government has imported a artificial threat able to gather useful information for later use in an invasion.

Perhaps if this situation had happened in an episode of the Twilight Zone or The Outer Limits, the mechanical infiltrator would fall in love with a beautiful police officer in Taipei and renounce its allegiance to the Chinese Superpower. In movies and television, robots are always suckers for romance and a pretty face.

In his defense, Hammer says the surveillance camera system is of Taiwanese design. I don’t find that very convincing. The Chinese are famous for putting their own spin (and devices) in what seems like relatively benign items. And this thing looks in no way benign. Big metal dogs look daunting to me and we are seeing a lot canine inspired war machines in a number of nations.

What I find really odd about this whole thing is that Taiwan is well known as a manufacturer and international innovator in building robots. I freely admit their designs (as far as I could see) are humanoid and they may not have any dogs. But I don’t see why you couldn’t use an upright human style robot to do the same job.

The really scary thing about this is the idea of robots patrolling our streets here in the United States. Our federal government is currently bizarrely incompetent and I don’t want them to have any new toys they can misuse.

James Alan Pilant

(It is highly likely this engraving of 19th Century London will be found inappropriate by many readers. In response, I would respectfully ask, “What chances do you think there are of me finding a non copyright protected image of a Chinese military robot dog or any robot dog for that matter?” Just enjoy the picture.)

Helen Davidson and Jason Tzu Kuan Lu reporting for The Guardian in an article: Taipei City council in the dog house over Chinese-made patrol robot.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/aug/28/taipei-city-council-in-the-dog-house-over-chinese-made-patrol-robot

Taipei City council has come under fire after admitting that a robot dog it bought to help patrol city streets using surveillance cameras was made by a Chinese companylinked to the Chinese military.

Hammer Lee, the deputy mayor of Taiwan’s capital, introduced a “new patrol partner” for the management and repair of pedestrian areas in a post on Facebook on Tuesday.

“This robot, equipped with an optical panoramic survey system, can create 360-degree images, accurately locate facilities, and even automatically report missing items,” Lee said, noting its ability to “accumulate comprehensive data”.

414 or 1.4 Million Defective Engines, Which is it?

On By southwerkIn business ethics

Well, not quite so many as 1.4 million, at least not yet. That is the implied number. There have been 414 reports of engine failure and these are significant. They imply that we could be looking at an endemic problems that is only now be revealed.

(Mythological beasts from a lower plane of Hell, that may also require a probe into their warranties.)

So, I give you my usual advice. That is – let the story and the investigations develop and over time the truth will be revealed.

Now, I must admit we live in strange times. Our current regime is very pro-corporation and this inquiry and its possible legal consequences could simply disappear.

You might say – “James, that is a horrible libel on our elected current regime. They wouldn’t sell their honor or the lives of their fellow Americans for money.” As of this date a very large number of investigations have already ceased, and in many more situations, the rules changed to favor industry. Even now selling or renting or drilling on the precious resource of the American people, public lands and our parks, has become more and more a reality.

Well, we will see what happens.

(But if the investigation is stopped or disappeared, I will report it on this site. jp)

In an article published in Reuters, entitled: US probes into more than 1.4 million Honda vehicles over engine failure, there seems to be some concern over faulty engines in Honda vehicles.

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/us-probes-more-1-4-082924014.html

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is opening a probe into more than 1.4 million Honda vehicles sold in the United States over concerns that connecting rod bearing failures in their engines could lead to complete engine failure.

In a letter dated August 20, the regulator said it received 414 reports of the issue in various Honda and Acura vehicles’ 3.5-liter V6 engine.

…

The investigation covers 2018-2020 model year Acura TLX, 2016-2020 Acura MDX, 2016-2020 Honda Pilot, 2018-2020 Honda Odyssey, and 2017-2019 Honda Ridgeline vehicles.

In 2024, the agency probed 1.4 million Honda vehicles on reports of serious engine issues following the Japanese automaker recalling 249,000 vehicles in November 2023.

Let’s hope it is just a few engines.

What are the business ethics here? It is wrong to sell defective vehicles. Those who have made purchased by mischance such defective vehicles should be made whole by repairs, new vehicles or money damages. There is no need for an in-depth analysis of Shareholder rights or Corporate citizenship, our laws on defective sales are sufficient for this situation.

The Cannon Ball Run or the Gumball Rally, Except for Real??

On By southwerkIn crime

The Cannonball Run was a 1981 action/comedy film starring Burt Reynolds and directed by Hal Needham. Not only silly and often in poor taste, it was entirely fictional. And this is important because if you do this stuff in real life … Well, it is not good.

An earlier movie with the same basic idea was made in 1976. The Gumball Rally was a racing film/comedy inspired by Cannonball Baker Sea-to-Shining-Sea Memorial Trophy Dash. These incidents (I’m not sure the word race actually fits these situations) were first and second a movie made for entertainment which by the way I very much enjoyed (the second one, anyway) and the third a series of five races covered and probably created by the magazine, Car and Driver, in the early 1970’s, were all very much pre-internet.

And of course, my dear readers, as you are well aware the Internet can mess up anything.

Currently we have some rather poor specimens of humanity who are also referred to as “influencers,” and they had to as always do something stupid. Although stupid may be too weak a word? Can you say Super Stupid? Is that a usable phrase?

Well, have a read and see what you think.

(Couldn’t find a race car in my data base of public domain pictures but this will do.)

In an article entitled, YouTubers drag raced through Grand Teton National Park. Park rangers had thoughts written by Jacqueline Kehoe, she explains what has just happened. In my opinion, we have a new and pitiful sort of Gumball Rally or one of those Cannonball things.

https://creators.yahoo.com/lifestyle/story/youtubers-drag-raced-through-grand-teton-national-park-park-rangers-had-thoughts-142142281.html

In a move that’s equal parts reckless and ridiculous, a group of luxury sports car drivers turned Grand Teton National Park into their personal racetrack — and paid the price for it.

On Tuesday, June 24, around 5 p.m., park rangers at Grand Teton National Park responded to reports of high-end sports cars drag racing along Teton Park Road — a serene, two-lane scenic route that skirts the base of the mighty Teton Range. The road, typically used by wildlife watchers, photographers, hikers, and families, became the site of an impromptu (and illegal) motorsport event. The result? Four drivers arrested, two cars impounded, and a slew of federal charges.

I really feel that you should read the article. Ms. Kehoe has a definite way with words, and you might pay particular attention to the names of the perps and, I don’t know, maybe share them on social media? It seems only fair.

After all they raced at high speed down a recreational road in a national park used by families and wildlife. I tend toward a certain level of hostility at them for this. You might very well feel that way too. The only reason they didn’t kill anybody was dumb luck.

If you want to race, find and hire a track. They’re are a lot of them.

As for desecrating a national park. Just don’t.

James Alan Pilant

Smoking Sensor Abuse!

On By southwerkIn Business Ethics, Capitalism

Hotels are charging customer a five hundred dollar fee if a smoking sensor determines that you have smoked in your room. But do smoking sensors actually work and work reliably? They might. Maybe? I must once again confess that when a juicy $500 fine can be gotten for a false positive — I can’t help but feel there are going to be lots and lots of false positives. It gets taken directly off the credit card. Five hundred free bucks and you didn’t even have to use a gun.

The article says you should use Google reviews and see if they have a lot of customer complaints for smoking fines and then don’t stay there if you see them.

I have a better idea. How about our wimpy, unenergetic, corporate owned news media do investigations, find out if these sensors work, and expose hotels who steal from their customers?

That is what is supposed to happen? Why isn’t it happening? Could it be all the advertisements bought by hotels? Could it be the sympathy from another capitalist operation, you know, a sort of honor among thieves code??

I suppose for many of the powers that be and our pitifully corrupt ruling class, stealing an extra five hundred from a customer is just another yawn. Just another common man or women giving up some more money to their betters. They’d have probably bought beer or high sugar food — or any of those other justifications the wealthy have for sneering at the rest of us.

I don’t think so. Taking people’s money under false pretences is wrong. And no amount of babble about the reliability of the technology when it isn’t proven is going to make it right.

It’s a crime. It’s theft and it should be investigated and prosecuted.

If they have evidence these sensors actually work, why don’t they show it? And exactly what costs do they bear to justify this fee?

If you don’t mind me saying so — It all smells.

Please read the article linked to below. It is written by Caleb Harmon-Marshall. He is apparently quite the up and coming young author.

https://creators.yahoo.com/lifestyle/story/new-smoking-sensors-are-triggering-500-fees-for-non-smoking-hotel-guests-210033335.html

Imagine checking out of your hotel room, confident that everything went smoothly, only to find a $500 non-smoking fee charged to your credit card. No warning, no evidence, and no actual smoking. That’s the reality for dozens of travelers staying at hotels using air quality monitoring systems from a company called Rest.

Welcome to the latest hospitality tech trend that’s costing travelers hundreds of dollars, and it could happen to you.

In addition, here is a very fine article from Consumer Rescue about the immense difficulties involved in getting a smoking charge reversed. It is by Michelle Couch-Friedman.

https://consumerrescue.org/travel-troubles/how-get-hotel-smoking-fee-refunded/

Getting a surprise hotel smoking fee reversed isn’t easy — even if you’re a non-smoker like Kelsey Russell. Or a determined consumer advocate. But it can be done. Here’s how.

Kelsey’s case is yet another story that illustrates a disturbing trend that seems to be developing in the franchise hotel industry. Increasingly, we’re receiving complaints from guests who say these branded properties have hit them with an array of surprising post-stay charges — no proof included. But, as you’ll see in this case, even when the hotel provides “evidence,”  it might just lead to more questions than answers.

This turned out to be a lengthy piece and a very good story. You should read it. And I have to admit it gave me a very good first impression of “Consumer Rescue.”

Beware of strange charges after spending the night at a hotel or other such venue.

James Alan Pilant

Theme Park Rides

On By southwerkIn business ethics

Over the years more and more information has become available on the dangers of theme parks. There have been some well publicized incidents and the latest one was just a couple of days ago. The article below tells the story and reports that there are a number of films of the incident available online.

https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/23-injured-theme-park-ride-135659093.html

The incident — which was captured on video and shared in multiple posts on X — occurred at Green Mountain Park in Taif on Thursday, July 31 (local time), according to CNN News 18, NDTV and the Hindustan Times. In the videos shared online, people could be seen riding the 360 Degrees, which normally has riders strapped to their chairs along a revolving platform that is flipped in the air from side to side while connected to a central pole. The ride appears to kick off as normal, showing the riders being flipped halfway through the air.

In the United States, it is often up to the individual states to regulate amusement park rides and as you might imagine that regulation can vary in effectiveness dramatically.

This subject would make for a good paper for a student and I would recommend the student begin with an internet search by the student of incidents in their home state. A local angle add impetus to your writing and often improves your grade not to mention the fact that you may be doing original research into under reported incidents.

I am providing a couple of YouTube Videos below. The first one is fairly generic. The second one is historical and most alarming. It’s a good watch.

This kind of subject matter lends itself to stakeholder analysis since safety and regulations concerns conflict (or can conflict) with local community initiatives for development and the simple fact that many people do not view amusement parks with the caution they deserve.

Many of these parks are chains owned by corporations, some of them family owned. This is a fruitful area of exploration.

J. Pilant

Why Isn’t This a Crime??

On By southwerkIn business ethics

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/home-depot-pay-2-million-133019838.html

Home Depot is paying a settlement of around two million dollars for “scanner violations.”

Here is a direct quote from the article referenced at the top:

The complaint filed in San Diego Superior Court said that when people at Home Depot brought an item to checkout, they would be charged more money than was written on the shelf tag or on the item itself. Such violations are called “scanner violations,” the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s office said in a press release Thursday.

Why isn’t this a crime? These customers were charged more than the listed price. Is there anyone, anywhere who believes this was just a mistake?

And missing from the article is the most important piece of information of all — how much did Home Depot profit from this nefarious scheme? I suspect that the two million dollars penalty is but a tiny fraction of the amount taken from consumers.

Apparently living as we do in the declining and predatory phase of capitalism this is regarded as a success ful business decision. It is also, evil, morally bankrupt, and a profound insult to the duty of honesty and fair dealing. Jack Welch and Milton Friedman would undoubtedly be impressed by the business skills here displayed by Home Depot.

Do we want morality and ethics in our business dealings in the United States? Apparently not very much or hardly at all. A fine which appears to be but a small fraction of the amount stolen by scanner violations is not going to discourage the company from stealing again.

What are we becoming as a nation, as a people and as a civilization where we routinize simple theft as just part of doing business? It is not too much to demand that businesses abide by the listed prices. It is not too much to demand that businesses abstain from theft. It is not too much to expect that businesses treat their customers as guests and assets rather than easy marks.

We do what is right because it is right, not because it is profitable, or that people might like us. We have duties as Americans to our fellow citizens and the nation as a whole. And if I may speak frankly, a duty to Almighty God to live as just human beings.

James Pilant

“You can’t prevent me from leaving with my aircraft!”

On By southwerkIn business ethics

Before we proceed I want to explain that the title is a direct quote from the aircraft in question’s pilot taken from the official report. And I freely admit he was right, they couldn’t stop him.

This is the story of a man who was also a pilot who was in a difficult weather situation. Advised over and over and over again not to attempt a take off, he insisted and took off anyway. Or almost took off. He and one of his two passengers died.

This sounds more like a fable from the time of the Greeks. A man determined on a disastrous course of action is offered help which he refuses, advice which he resents, and expert help which he ignores. And then he goes ahead and dies.

Three people laded at Lake Renegade. They are in an amphibian aircraft. It only lands and takes off on water. There are so many bodies of water in the United States, people wonder why there aren’t more of these kinds of planes. It’s very simple. Calm water is a wonderful surface to land on, but in most of the United States there is considerable wind and you don’t have it. Choppy wind-blown water will kill you. Water landings depend on very calm and stable conditions. And that simply wasn’t the case at Lake Renegade that day.

I’ve read the report twice because it was so hard to believe. A veritable army of experienced and kind individuals virtually begged him not to take off. He went anyway.

Hubris is fatal. I suppose if a man wants to risk his life there is little that can be done to stop him but this man in his overweening pride also killed one passenger and injured another.

This was all a profound failure of ethics.

A man should take stock of expert advice. A man should not without a good adequate reason risk his own life or the lives of others. And above all, a man should respect the forces of nature and make decisions in accordance with weather and terrain.

There is a lot of pseudo-masculine ideology running about these days. I can’t help but wonder if he thought all the warnings were from “snowflakes” and “wimps” — and he was going to show everybody what a real man could do with an aircraft. He did provide us with a useful example of what not to do.

One of the saddest cases I’ve ever come across.

http://www.kathrynsreport.com/2017/07/lake-la-250-n1400p-accident-occurred.html

From the article above:

The staff and volunteers at the Airbase are all very clear that they literally begged him not to fly in these conditions. The pilot may have considered the rough conditions to be borderline and it’s true that at least one Lake pilot at the site stated that he thought it wasn’t outside of the ability of a highly experienced pilot. However, the pilot that day wasn’t highly experienced in seaplanes and he chose to risk a tailwind take-off in an aircraft that had required a tow a few hours before because it had taken on water. In his rush to leave, he either forgot or chose not to configure the aircraft correctly for take-off. It is very difficult to interpret his actions as anything other than reckless.