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The Mother, the School, and the Holy Reindeer

Jesus said, “Blessed are the peacemakers;” Monty Python said, “Blessed are the cheesemakers.” How true, how true. But alas, the Ethics Scoreboard cannot bless the gratuitous troublemakers.

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Boycott Ethics

Boycotts have their place in a democracy, but it is a limited place. The method is a form of economic bullying, using commerce, or the withholding of it, to pressure a person or business into changing their conduct. The ethical problem with boycotts is that it is the economic impact, not the rightness of the cause, that usually determines the end result. Boycotts can and have been used for bad objectives as well as good. They also cause collateral damage, as innocent employees, investors and families lose income, jobs and security due to no fault of their own.

In a country that is based upon freedom of thought and political choice, using  boycotts to suppress positions that are merely controversial rather than objectively wrong is ethically offensive. Yet in these times of polarized parties and ideologues who cannot see the grays in any dispute, too many people are unable to tell the difference. “You have a right to your opinion,” is a sentiment heard less and less these days, particularly if that opinion involves an issue like abortion, global warming, or gun control.

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1/8/2009

The Good Samaritan and the Unethical Friend

12/21/2008

The Mother, the School, and the Holy Reindeer

12/10/2008

The Dilemma of the Expectant Mother and the State Trooper

8/17/2008

Boycott Ethics

7/14/2008

The Case of the Conflicted Prosecutor

3/17/2008

Sen. Obama, Rev. Wright, and the Ethics of Association

1/30/2008

The Ethics Verdict on Dr. Phil

1/9/2008

The Tale of the Tattooed Penis

12/23/2007

When Tasteless Jokes Go Astray: the Penn State Halloween Costumes

12/23/2007

Ethics and the Naked Fireman

12/3/2007

The Saga of the Robber and the Ticket

11/11/2007

Exposing Indoctrination at the University of Delaware: FIRE Acts While the Media Sleeps

8/23/2007

The Newport Statue Revisited: Where Responsibility Lies

8/9/2007

Message from Barry Bonds’ Lawyer

7/12/2007

The Ethics of Double Billing

6/5/2007

Showing Movies in Class: the Bad, the Worse, and the Ugly

5/21/2007

School Administrators Amuck

5/4/2007

The Judge, the Pants, and Rosie’s Mouth

4/5/2007

Lawrence Small and the Star Syndrome

3/15/2007

Refining the Naked Teacher Principle

2/22/2007

Advocate Deceit and Illegal Immigration

2/15/2007

Ethics and the Bullet in the Forehead

2/13/2007

Real Life Ethics Test: A Medical School Dilemma and the McGwire Rationale

2/2/2007

Ethics and the Tragedy of Genarlow Wilson

1/29/2007

How a Child Predator Went Free

1/17/2007

Ethics Train Wreck: the Duke Lacrosse Rape Case

1/3/2007

When Teachers Paint With Their Butts

12/4/2006

The Columbia School of Journalism Cheating Scandal

12/4/2006

Extorting Michael Richards

12/4/2006

The Tennie Pierce Affair

10/18/2006

Unethical Student Protest at Gallaudet

9/4/2006

Ghostwriting Ethics

8/28/2006

Apparent Bias in the Wiretap Opinion

8/14/2006

The Killer in the Cemetery

7/31/2006

The Trial Lawyers Hide

7/26/2006

Brittany McComb’s Valedictory Speech

7/12/2006

Medical Ethics and "Dr. Jerk"

6/25/2006

No Hypocrisy at the ACLU

6/25/2006

When Teachers Go Naked

6/12/2006

The Columnist, the Lawyer, and the Privilege

5/26/2006

When Enforcement is Unethical

4/19/2006

Revolting Development: Juror Notes Auction

3/29/2006

Justice Scalia’s Impartiality Problem

3/13/2006

Judges, Morality, Duty & the Law

3/6/2006

Thank-You Note Ethics and Delusions of the Left

3/5/2006

Kofi Annan and the U.N.’s Culture of Corruption

3/1/2006

Pappy Boyington & the Student Senate

2/26/2006

The Ethics of an E-mail Fiasco

12/29/2005

Attack of the Santa Assassin

12/27/2005

Professor Lipstadt’s Ethics

12/3/2005

Law, Ethics & the Pregnant Teacher

11/28/2005

Politics, Ethics and Arrogance in the Classroom

11/21/2005

Pit Bulls, Lawyers and Ethics

11/14/2005

God’s Professional Ethics

11/10/2005

More Protest Ethics: Futility vs. Realism 11/14/2005

10/22/2005

American U Teaches a Lesson

10/13/2005

Why Lawyers Defend the Guilty

10/12/2005

From Pink to Black & White

9/19/2005

The NCAA Shows Its Loyalties

9/4/2005

The Saga of Ted Williams’ Head

8/9/2005

The Last Betrayal of Marilyn Monroe

8/8/2005

Doctors Who Discriminate

7/27/2005

Leave Souter Alone

7/17/2005

Skewed Values at Harvard

7/12/2005

"The Ethicist" Whiffs

6/1/2005

Jury Ethics

5/26/2005

The Prisoner’s Liver

5/5/2005

The Vagina Dialogues

4/24/2005

Nice Guys Finish First

4/21/2005

Corrupting All Students to Save a Few

4/15/2005

The Perverted Ethics of "Conscience Clauses"

4/2/2005

The Student, the Principal and the Secret Cigarette

3/25/2005

Legal Process as Extortion

3/15/2005

Joe Judge’s Fifteen Years of Fame

3/3/2005

The Court Considers Executing Minors

2/25/2005

Michael Jackson & the Grandmother

2/25/2005

Go the Head of the Class

2/20/2005

Spreading Ignorance with Best Intentions

2/9/2005

Richard Cohen, Hamilton & the Right Thing

1/18/2005

Ethics Are Not a Waste of Time

12/29/04

Viewpoint Discrimination on Campus

12/27/04

When Judges Dress Up

12/12/04

Fun with Slavery

11/16/04

Loose Ends 2: "Imposing Religious Values"

11/9/04

The NAACP vs. the IRS

11/4/04

Fairness, Effort & Benedict College

10/29/04

Judicial Humor in Texas

10/1/04

A Defense Lawyer Gets Candid

10/1/04

"Honest Mistakes"

9/29/04

Dershowitz Defends Plagiarism

9/14/04

Ethics Pollution Personified

9/11/04

The Plagiarizing Professor

9/3/04

Disposable Spouse

8/30/04

Explaining Ginsberg

7/1/04

Children’s Online Protection Act

6/28/04

A Judge’s TV Tactics

6/28/04

Class Zealotry

6/25/04

Irresponsible Lawyer

6/4/04

A Cheating Student Sues

6/1/04

Campaign Donation Shakedowns

6/1/04

Fake Credentials

5/26/04

Law and Ethics

5/24/04

Commencement Ethics

5/3/04

Zero Tolerance5/5/2004

5/2/04

Soused Superintendent

4/19/04

Berkeley’s Confusion

4/14/04

Mob and Memo

4/04

Edward R. Jackson (Ethics Hero)

3/31/04

Perry Mason Lives!

3/30/04

Expert Bias

3/22/04

Lawyer Turf Wars

3/21/04

Scalia Irony

3/21/04

Erin Brockovich

3/18/04

Scalia Fires Back

3/15/04

Conflicted at Brown

3/14/04

Harvard

3/13/04

Bench Bias: Ginsberg

3/7/04

Priests’ Blotter

3/6/04
Self-Reviewing
3/3/04
Lying Lawyers
2/26/04
Non-Profits
2/25/04
Academic Diversity
2/24/04
Harold and Naomi
2/11/04
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