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Ted Stevens, Republican Icon

Alaska Senator Ted Stevens was just indicted, and it is pretty hard to see how he’s going to avoid jail time. If this surprises you even a little, you don’t know the career of Senator Stevens, the longest-serving Republican in the Senate, and a Machiavellian to the core.

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Ethics Priorities in the News: Balancing Utilitarianism and Absolutism

As a general rule, the United States has a utilitarian outlook and culture. We accept (well, most of us) the unequal distribution of wealth that results from capitalism because the system promotes maximum effort, competition, wealth and productivity. We embrace (again, most of us) a majority-rules approach to government despite its marginalization of minority views, because it seems to work better than the alternatives. But utilitarian systems can be dangerous unless they are limited by some absolutes, and these are provided by the Constitution. Absolutism means no exceptions, and when an absolute principle of U.S. law stops us from taking an action that seems wise, just and necessary, critics and pundits scream. But absolutism itself, ironically, serves utilitarian ends in such situations. It protects the integrity of the laws, and avoids an erratic situational system that would provide little certainty or guidance. Three recent situations illustrate a point that has many variations and degrees.

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The Flat Ethical Learning Curve of Congressional Republicans

Will the Democrats, when they take over-whelming control of both houses of Congress this fall, resolve to avoid developing the arrogant and unethical culture that marked the disgraceful reign of the Republicans? Almost certainly not, because what is respected in today's Washington is success and power, not principle or values. But that's okay: the Republicans' defeat will teach make them realize that their fall was not dictated by the war in Iraq, gas taxes and the credit crunch, but by their abandonment of honesty and trustworthiness. Right?

Naaah. In fact, the GOP is as invested in Tom DeLay-Bill Frist flim-flam as ever. The party may go down, but it will go down slimy to the end. All evidence indicates that when it comes to ethics, Congressional Republicans have a learning curve as flat as a pancake.

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9/29/2008

Exposing the Ugly Side

8/8/2008

The Ethics Guy Picks a Vice-President

8/2/2008

Ted Stevens, Republican Icon

6/22/2008

Ethics Priorities in the News: Balancing Utilitarianism and Absolutism

6/1/2008

The Flat Ethical Learning Curve of Congressional Republicans

5/28/2008

Hillary’s Broken Ethics Alarms

6/9/2005

Urban Legends in Pensacola

6/2/2005

Mistaken Accolades for "Deep Throat"

5/23/2005

Move-On and the Ethics of Silly Arguments

5/18/2005

Rejecting the Popular Terrorist

4/11/2005

Too Dumb To Be Ethics Dunces

4/8/2005

Schiavo Memo: Mystery Solved, Ethics Still Missing

4/6/2005

Sandy Berger: Just a Player

3/8/2005

When the City Wants Your Hom

3/7/2005

The Ethics of Personal Destruction

2/14/2005

The Ethics of Self-delusion

2/11/2005

The Power of a Rotten Apple

1/23/2005

On Accountability

1/19/2005

The Ethics of Celebration

1/2/2005

Cesspool Pollution in Congress

11/29/04

Cynical Ethics, GOP Style

11/10/04

Ethical Distortions: The Meaning of "Lie"

11/5/04

The "Dirty Dozen" Results

11/1/04

The Dirty Dozen: Who not to vote for

10/27/04

The Draft Tactic

10/21/04

Nail the Hammer (Tom Delay)

10/20/04

The Mary Cheney Controversy

9/26/04

Big Lies on the Campaign Trail (Government & Politics)

9/24/04

Clinton Ethics in Kerryville

9/13/04

Rumsfeld's Deadly Rationalization

9/10/04

Leave Nader Alone!

8/25/04

Swift Boat Veteran Ad

8/15/04

Rodney Alexander, Turncoat

8/15/04

Some Hero

8/11/04

Hypocrisy and Alan Keyes

8/6/04

McCain is Right

8/4/04

The Incorrigible Governor Dean

7/29/04

Teresa Heinz Kerry Meet VP Cheney

7/26/04

No Winners in the Plame Matter

7/25/04

Snubbing the NAACP

7/14/04

The Meaning of Balance

7/13/04

Sudan

7/12/04

Abortion & Senator Kerry

6/27/04

Bill Clinton

6/24/04

Rowland Resigns

6/16/04

Ethics Truce 2

6/16/04

Nader Mess Up

6/4/04

Moran and the Postman

5/28/04

Ethics from Bill Clinton

5/17/04

Nick Berg

5/12/04

Bipartisan Blindness

4/28/04

Kerry's SUV's

4/21/04

On Purple Hearts

4/20/04

Commission Conflicts

4/8/04

More on Medicare Deception

4/2/04

Gifted Governor

3/24/04

Word Games

3/19/04

McCain's Loyalties

3/16/04

Ethics Truce?

3/04

Dept of Health & Human Services (Ethics Dunce)

3/15/04

Medicare Deceptions

3/15/04

Foreign Leaders for Kerry 3/16/2004

3/11/04

Bush Ad Protesters

3/11/04

Kerry's Insult

3/9/04

Scandal Favoritism

3/9/04

Cover Phrases

3/4/04
Government Enron
3/3/04
San Francisco Hubris
3/3/04
Watchdog Agendas
3/04
Senator Tom Harkin (March Ethics Hero)
2/24/04
House Rules
2/16/04
O'Neill's Loyalty
2/04
Senator Orrin Hatch (February Ethics Hero)
   
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