|
The Communitarian Update
Number 18
June 15, 1999
Vaclav Havel in the Next Responsive Community
The July 1999 issue of The Responsive Community will feature an article on the
decline of the nation-state by Czech President Vaclav Havel. Havel suggests
political structures that will replace this institution. To subscribe to the
journal and receive this issue, call (800) 245-7460. Visit us on the web!
Think all evangelical Christians are as conservative as their national leaders?
Then you'll be surprised at the findings of W. Bradford Wilcox and John P.
Bartkowski. They will report in the next Responsive Community that rank and
file evangelicals are actually quite progressive in spite of their support for
such leaders as Pat Robertson.
In the Workplace
The ACLU has lost an appeal of a lawsuit challenging a Virginia law that
prohibits state workers from viewing sexually explicit Internet material
while on state time.
Discrimination, forgery, expense account cheating, and dealing in kickbacks
are but four of a list of 25 unethical and illegal acts of which 48% of American
workers admitted to engaging in at least one of in a recent survey. Results of
the Ethics Officer Association survey are reported in the May/June issue of Society.
In Our Schools
A nightmarish story about drug testing in schools appears in the May 31 U.S. News &
World Report. Students' rights are violated without strong cause. The testing is
costly and ineffectual, and students have learned to circumvent drug tests. Perhaps
we should have the school children running the program. They could hardly do worse.
Privacy Factoid
How many wiretaps would you guess both Federal and state courts allow in any recent
given year? Last year there were a mere 1,327.
Oregonians Battle Neighborhood Porn Stores
The state constitution of Oregon currently provides stronger protection for free
speech than the U.S. Constitution. However, adult businesses have exploited the
protection and started setting up shop in residential areas and near schools. A
referendum will be voted on this November to scale back protection of free speech
to the level of protection offered by the U.S. Constitution. This is shaping up to
be a battle between the rights of a community vis-a-vis a business.
The Limits of Privacy
Alan M. Dershowitz, Harvard University, author of Sexual McCarthyism and Chutzpah:
"Etzioni can always be counted on to pose thoughtful challenges to conventional
wisdom. His new book, The Limits of Privacy, which advocates a balancing approach
to privacy, does not disappoint. Though I quarrel with the weight of the communitarian
thumb he places on the scale, I admire the wisdom and data he brings to bear on the
debate. A MUST-READ FOR EVERYONE WHO VALUES PRIVACY, COMMUNITY AND RATIONALITY." Amitai
Etzioni's The Limits of Privacy is available in bookstores, or call (800) 245-7460 to
order.
New Publications
The Control Revolution: How the Internet is Putting Individuals in Charge and Changing
the World We Know (Century Foundation, 1999), by Andrew L. Shapiro. Explores the
positives and negatives of the cultural shift being driven by the Internet.
Professional Responsibility: Ethics Standards in Business, Health, and Law Fourth
Edition, (BNA Books, 1999) edited by Rena A. Gorlin. A look at 59 codes of ethics
of various professions and associations.
A Return to Salem?
Rep. Bob Barr (R- GA), attached an amendment to a bill that would have prohibited
the practice of witchcraft on military bases. The amendment did not pass.
New Y2K Problem?!
A breakthrough has scientists pondering whether the universe is really 13.5 billion
years old, or only 12 billion. We suggest holding off on updating your software and
other relevant accounts....
The Second Rape of Abner Louima
During the trial of New York police officers for the torture of Abner Louima, criminal
defense lawyer Marvin Kornberg subjected Louima to some vile, and legally protected,
buggery of his own. Kornberg suggested to jurors that the ruptured rectum and bladder
sustained by Louima (who is married with two young children) were actually the result
of consensual anal sex prior to being detained by police. He also said that Louima's
feces "contains the DNA of another male." Kornberg never produced a shred of evidence
to support this scandalous charge, and apparently had none. It all seems to have been
a bald-faced lie to prejudice the jury.
Statements made in court proceedings- no matter how patently untrue and destructive-
have "absolute immunity" from legal action for slander or libel. While this privilege
applies to witnesses as well as lawyers, witnesses swear an oath of truthfulness and
can be prosecuted for perjury. But lawyers can lie with impunity. And criminal defense
lawyers -- motivated by an ideological zeal that justifies any treachery in the name of
defendants' rights -- have increasingly abused this privilege by defaming innocent victims
and third parties. Defense lawyers have suggested that little Megan Kanka provoked her
attack by sexually flirtatious conduct, and that murdered schoolteacher Jonathan Levin,
son of Time-Warner chief Gerald Levin, was a drug dealer. The Center for Community Interest
will shortly be proposing legislation to curb this license to lie. (CCI Friday Fax, June
4, 1999, Community Interest.)
The Communitarian Update is compiled by Andrew S. Becker. Send news, questions, or
comments to him at comnet@gwu.edu. Please forward the Communitarian Update to others
who may be interested.
|
