Ethics On The Head Of A Pin March 9, 2026March 8, 2026 HOORAY FOR OUR MEN AND WOMEN IN THE MILITARY Of course it’s terrible and unAmerican that some commanders are telling their teams this is a Holy War (US commanders say Trump “anointed by Jesus” to attack Iran) . . . beyond stupid and cruel that we got rid of thousands of highly trained people like Space Force Colonel Bree Fram just because they’re trans . . . awful the way Trump swaggers, belittles, bullies, brags, demeans, lies, rapes, sells pardons, delights in violence (see, for example: Gladiators on the South Lawn for his birthday), subverts democracy, obstructs justice, flouts the Constitution . . . and more. All that is true. It is also true that the U.S. and Israeli militaries are doing a spectacular job of demilitarizing Iran and its terrorist proxies. It seems clear that Iran’s ability to produce and launch missiles and drones, let alone nuclear weapons, and to arm their proxies, is being wiped out . . . thus far, at least, with loss of life — tragic though any loss of life is — that pales before Iran’s recent massacre of its own peacefully protesting people. There will be all sorts of blowback and costs to this war, not least for the vast majority of defenseless Iranians who hate the regime. And maybe it never should have started. But am I crazy to think — or at least to hope — that, on balance, these weeks of bombings could prove to have been a good thing? And that after what might actually not be an endless war . . . but, rather, a very short one . . . Israel and its neighbors — who now have also been attacked by Iran — might conceivably achieve the kind of regional peace and prosperity so many have dreamt of? Even coming up with a way to replace the long nightmare of Palestinian suffering with some kind of regionally-supported two-state-solution Marshall Plan at long last? I know. The happy gene. Don’t hate me. PS — When Trump says Iran started the war in 1979 with the taking of our hostages, remember that we started the war in 1953 with the overthrow of their democracy. LEAVING MAGA From Adam Kinzinger’s foreword to One Betrayal Too Many: Why I Left MAGA by Rich Logis: Rich tells the tale of his odyssey with great honesty, forthrightness, and most importantly, humility. He understands how important community is to the people in MAGA, because he lived it. He appreciates that many in the movement are motivated by a love of country, because he was one of them. And he knows that browbeating, berating, or belittling people for their political choices will only make them more defensive about them. Through the Leaving MAGA non-profit he formed, Rich has created a safe, nonjudgmental space for people who may be having doubts and questioning their support of Donald Trump. The next chapter of American history is yet to be written. It’s in our hands. I, for one, refuse to be part of the generation that lets our democracy fail, especially after my grandfather stared down the Nazis, and especially after my friends and I stared down Al Qaeda. And I’m honored to have rich Logis as an ally in this fight. Me, too! “ETHICS IS IN THE TOILET” Documents Reveal a Web of Financial Ties Between Trump Officials and the Industries They Help Regulate In small part: Trump has openly defended his family’s financial enrichment while he is in office, including through cryptocurrency deals that critics say allow investors, including foreign entities, to curry favor by boosting the president’s personal wealth. “I found out nobody cared, and I’m allowed to,” Trump told The New York Times, referring to his family’s business dealings. Trump also remains unapologetic about accepting a Boeing 747 worth about $400 million from the Qatari government and transferring nearly $1 billion from a nuclear weapons program to retrofit it. Virginia Canter, chief counsel for ethics and corruption at Democracy Defenders Fund, a nonprofit governmental watchdog group, cited Trump’s new plane as a brazen example of self-dealing. “Ethics is in the toilet,” said Canter, who served as an ethics lawyer at the White House, Treasury Department and Securities and Exchange Commission during the presidencies of George H.W. Bush, Bill Clinton, George W. Bush and Barack Obama. Fifty-odd years ago I profiled a New York real estate tycoon from Queens named Sam Lefrak. “It’s not hard to make fun of a billion-dollar builder who can’t pronounce the word ‘condominium,'” the piece began. “(He pronounces it ‘condominimum.’) But Samuel J. Lefrak has built more middle-class New York City housing than anybody.” Sam was colorful, tough, and had an ego almost as large as Trump’s. As part of that piece, I remember quoting someone — possibly Sam — saying, “Ethics? You could fit the ethics of the entire New York real‑estate industry on the head of a pin.” And here are those ethics now alive and well in the most corrupt administration of the modern era — if not all time. TOO DARK? Americans aren’t facing a democratic collapse. We’re living in its aftermath. The author goes overboard, if you ask me — but even he sees hope (at the very end of his piece) in ordinary citizens joining together to save democracy. Join Indivisible! Support the opposition! Have a great week.