Next weeks Ethics, Trust & Transparency conference on the SMU campus just got easier to attend with the announcement that the entire event will be streamed on the web. Every minute of the conference, beginning at 8:20 am, Wednesday, November 2, 2011 will be video streamed free-of-charge on the main page of the Maguire Center’s […]
Category: Politics, government & ethics
Register now for the “Ethics, Trust and Transparency” conference scheduled next Wednesday, 7:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. in the Crum Auditorium at the Jim Collins Executive Center on the SMU campus. At a time when confidence in government and business leaders has been rocked by scandal and questionable decisions it will be both healthy and […]
Perkins Theology School’s Dean Bill Lawrence had an absolutely outstanding commentary on KERA-FM this week. You can hear it here (MP3). Dean Lawrence’s timely message concerned those who “ensmall” their spheres of responsibility and accountability vs. those who enlarge them. By defining down those things for which we feel any responsibility, anything outside that circle […]
Based upon this article from today’s Washington Post, I was going to write a snarky little piece about the limited job opportunities for ethicists in the White House. There’s one ethics advisor there (though I will bet there are others in the White House Counsel’s office who have a piece of those issues, as well), […]
Are the recent public apologies heard from celebrities, athletes, government officials and others accused of wrongdoing sincere or manufactured by publicists trying to minimize the damage? Ethicists examine the authenticity of public apologies in an article posted at the following site: http://www.umc.org/site/apps/nlnet/content3.aspx?c=lwL4KnN1LtH&b=2072519&ct=6820489.
The Markkula Center for Applied Ethics has started a five-part weekly series leading up to Inauguration Day to discuss various ethical issues that confront our 44th president: — Who will the Obama administration bring into federal service? What virtues will they be looking for and what ethical considerations will guide their selection? — What tools […]
As reported by the Dallas Morning News, the DISD board is voting this afternoon on its new ethics policy. The key issue that divides the trustees is how to deal with the situation of a vendor with family or business ties to a board member: Require disclosure and recusal? Or disqualify the vendor from having […]
Yesterday, I wrote that the Senate should expel Sen. Ted Stevens if he didn’t do the honorable thing and resign, at least if his appeal is unsuccessful. Today, Sen. McCain indicated he wasn’t particularly interested in the outcome of any appeal: “It is clear that Senator Stevens has broken his trust with the people and […]
After two somewhat downer-posts about ethics in goverment, it’s a pleasure to write something reasonably upbeat for a change. How’s this for a lead (from the BayouBuzz.com): Today, the Better Government Association (BGA) released its second edition of the BGA-Alper Integrity Index, announcing that Louisiana???s overall ranking improved from 46th in 2002 to fifth in […]
Senator Ted Stevens’ conviction today on seven counts of filing false financial reports with the U.S. Senate raises an interesting question. According to The New York Times report, this throws the senator’s re-election bid into some doubt. On the other hand, should the voters of Alaska decide the 84-year-old Stevens deserves an eighth term, there […]