Category Archives: Ethics

Harlan Crow and “Friend$hip,” Judicial Ethic$— The new Oxymorons

When I was a government employee we were instructed to avoid the appearance of conflicts of interest. At that time we couldn’t even accept payment for a meal, much less vacations and monetary gifts of any kind.

So it without risk of contradiction to say that there is an order of magnitude difference between the situation Justice Thomas and other Supreme Court Justices and the long accepted norms noted above.

Crow, after providing support in the hundreds of thousands of dollars to a sitting Supreme Court Justice (Thomas) refuses to discuss this relationship.

Medicynical Note: Harlan Crow, didn’t know Justice Thomas before Thomas became a justice. But since that time Thomas and his wife have received direct and indirect monetary payments and other benefits (free private flights and luxurious vacations) from Crow and I would presume others. In dollars Crow’s contributions are valued at over a million dollars.

And just what did Crow receive in return? Yes the citizen’s United decision which Thomas supported allows the Crows and other wealthy individuals to give unlimited dollars to influence political campaigns (a form of legalized bribery)….. but are monetary gifts to judges bribery? And just how much in contributions and other emollients is bribery? Just where is the line? And how should the recipient behave when his benefactor has business before the court?

In any case, Thomas became a reliable vote for whatever issue Crow considered important….. and also issues that his very politically active wife (who also received payments) supported. Should Thomas have recused himself from some these contentious cases?— he didn’t.

Just how corrupt is the current Supreme Court? Are judicial ethics a new disgraceful oxymoron?

Groundhog Day— Again and Again and Again

Every day or two in America another mass killing.

Medicynical Note: Anyone think this is what the founders had in mind? The compromised Republican conservative Supreme Court justices apparently do.

These justices sit at home under police protection from demonstrators. Because the demonstrators have access all manner of weapons…… a situation that the court itself facilitated.

Ironic? Or just pathetic?

Again….and Again…..and….. Again…. and…. Again

Medicynical note: America leads the world in murders.

We used to lead the world in innovation, education, and technology. We did have an original-sin problem with racism, but we seemed to be addressing it for a while.

Now we have racists on TV and maybe Twitter. Now we have more guns/capita than anywhere in the world. And now we have more gun deaths, mass shootings, school shootings, gun murders, accidental shootings, gun suicides, shootings of innocents by police and police getting shot etc, etc, etc. America today.

And the Republican Party and Supreme Court and some Democrats, the people who made it all possible. Sit mute. Some hiding from people who might be near their homes legally carrying the weapons that they have made it so so easy to own.

Irony doesn’t exist in America

Santos: A Republican Icon……

It’s hard to believe he’s still in congress. He lied about literally everything during his election campaign and was still elected to the U.S. House of Representatives. This was known at the time of his installation as a member of the house but the Republican leader of the house allowed him to be seated. While somewhat shocking it should not come as a surprise as the leaders of his party regularly suborn perjury and encourage lies whether speaking of the outcome of the 2020 election, the January 6 attempted insurrection, the previous president’s performance, or the causes of the budget deficit.

Medicynical Note: Not only is he still a congressman but he is running for re-election. And the Republican Party………. missing inaction.

“Ground Hog Day” Again : Kentucky Bank Shooting

It will happen again and again and again. I’m beginning to feel like the guy in Groundhog Day. Every day, no matter how they find to excuse it—mental health system, police delays, no metal detectors, open doors, thoughts and prayers — it happens again.

Medicynical Note: Another shooting. A “legally” purchased AR-15 obtained four days earlier by a soon to be fired bank employee. It took one minute to kill 5 people. Also shot in the event were two police. One, a new police recruit, with a life threatening injury.

Kentucky is a state with few limits on gun purchases and open carry. It’s as if they want to facilitate the slaughter. The police, always respond, most times heroically but almost always too late. A front line group the police for some inexplicable reason continue to support guns everywhere for everyone. An insane mind set, but then it’s 21st century America where daily public killings are deemed necessary for “freedom.”

Our conservative Supreme Court members made it all possible following the vague notion of originalism. They seem too busy to concern themselves with the collateral damage and are off on luxury trips around the world with “personal” friends or hiding at home fearful of………. guns.

Teacher Shot by 6 year old: Accountability? NONE

Our legal system is in as bad shape as our healthcare non=system.

You know the story. “ A first-grade Virginia teacher who was shot and seriously wounded by her 6-year-old student filed a lawsuit Monday seeking $40 million in damages from school officials, accusing them of gross negligence for allegedly ignoring multiple warnings on the day of the shooting that the boy had a gun and was in a “violent mood.”’

“The boy used his mother’s gun, which police said was purchased legally. An attorney for the boy’s family has said that the firearm was secured on a closet shelf and had a lock on it.”

Medicynical note: No charges have been brought because this appears to be a case of an immaculate assassination (attempt). The gun magically appeared in the child’s backpack and what else could the six year old do?

Obviously you don’t charge the six year old, though it was apparently considered. But somewhere in this chain of non-custody the child got the gun brought it to school and almost killed the teacher.

It’s not rocket science, the gun owner must be held accountable.

But then this is America where the guy who tried to overthrow an election by plotting and encouraging violence against the government is charged and brought to court for giving hush money to a porn “star.” And his accomplices continue to serve in the House of Representatives and Senate.

Corruption? Or incompetence? Or is it just our very ill-legal system.

Only in America…… guns

This only happens in America. Freedom?

And this:

And this:

Medicynical Note: Just another couple of days of murder and mayhem in the once civil, once United …… States of America. We are unique and are number 1 in the industrialized world in gun deaths, mass shootings, accidental shootings, school shootings, gun homicides, suicide gun deaths, police shootings, police getting shot, and in the number of guns/capita. We are the world leader.

Virginia Teacher Shooting: Who Did What?

A 6 year old shot a teacher. Now months after the event the criminal “justice” system can’t decide who should be held responsible. They did decide to not charge the 6 year old.

“Earlier this month, top Newport News prosecutor Howard Gwynn said his office will not criminally charge the boy because he wouldn’t understand the legal system and what a charge means. Gwynn has yet to decide if any adults will be charged.”

Medicynical note: It’s truly absurd that the owner of the gun has not been charged. Newport News clearly has more problems than the 6 year old shooter. I’m not sure whether the delay in attributing responsibility and prosecution is worse than the actual shooting. It’s a grotesque.

Legal inertia has is also evident in the handling of the attempts to suppress voters, illegally influence the vote count and ultimately the violent attempt to reverse the 2020 presidential election by our former President and many members of his political party some serving in the House of Representatives and Senate. Two years out and none of these key planners and instigators have been indicted or in any significant way punished. This too is grotesque.

End Stage Capitalism: Sinema…. Lies

In Yiddish it’s called chutzpah. (Wikipedia: “Chutzpah (/ˈxʊtspə, ˈhʊt-/)[1][2] is the quality of audacity, for good or (as in this case) for bad.”)

Ms. Sinema was in congress since the Obama years. She has strongly supported deregulating the banking industry.

“Before she went from the U.S. House of Representatives to the U.S. Senate, Sinema was party to an early effort by the banks to undo the provisions of the 2010 Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act that was passed in the wake of the 2007-2008 financial crisis.”

She also voted for the Trump loosening of the Dodd-Frank banking regulations in 2018. “After Trump became president, Sinema and a majority of the House Financial Services Committee supported the far more extensive Economic Growth, Regulatory Relief, and Consumer Protection Act of 2018. Sinema sponsored unrelated accompanying measures protecting children from identity theft and seniors from scammers. The immediate effect was to divert attention from the bill’s ultimate intention, which was to let the banks do whatever they want.”

So after voting for the deregulation of the industry and encouraging bankers to take more risk she’s back. Wondering what happened.

Medicynical Note: We’re watching the slow disintegration of democracy.

A Supreme Court that is supremely unconcerned about voting rights; that appears to support a state religion; that wants to reinstitute the laws of 1776 rather than adjust to the 21st century.

An octogenarian president who, while in my view is an upgrade from the last guy, wants re-election. Someone in their mid 80’s leading the country? Not a good idea.

We also have a House of Representatives led by (third in line for the presidency) a hapless compromised speaker who sold his soul to the most radical conservative faction of his party and who supported the Jan. 6 attempt to overthrow the election.

And now a self proclaimed independent, one of the prime movers to deregulate banking , wonders what caused two banks to fail over the weekend and wants accountability. With such a feckless leadership what could possibly go …………right?

Deregulation: A Sad Lesson From Turkey

For my libertarian friends.

A Turkish city is the new poster child for regulation. In one town thousands died. In the other no-one died. Care to guess which was which?

Medicynical note: Libertarians/most republicans posit that regulation is un-necessary. People and businesses under the pressure of competition will automatically do the right thing. In this case in many places in Turkey, builders and their customers opted to not follow common sense building regulations to maximize profits and in the case of their customers “save” money.

The result was monstrous. In areas where building regulations were NOT followed thousands died…..in the few areas where they were strictly applied few people died.

There is a message here for those who are interested. Most regulation are there for a reason.