The Code of the West

[RoadKingLarry]

I could get behind this.
Monatana wants to officially adopt the Code of the West for ethics guidlines
http://www.foxnews.com/opinion/2011/02/10/cowboy-code-frivolous/?test=faces#

I like the basic idea of it.

[AZRedhawk44]

I, for one, welcome of our new ****kicker overlords.

[seeker_two]

Not a bad idea....I'd even be OK if politicians (and doctors, for that matter) lived by the Hippocratic Oath....

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hippocratic_Oath#Original

I swear by Apollo, the healer, Asclepius, Hygieia, and Panacea, and I take to witness all the gods, all the goddesses, to keep according to my ability and my judgment, the following Oath and agreement:
To consider dear to me, as my parents, him who taught me this art; to live in common with him and, if necessary, to share my goods with him; To look upon his children as my own brothers, to teach them this art.

I will prescribe regimens for the good of my patients according to my ability and my judgment and never do harm to anyone.

I will not give a lethal drug to anyone if I am asked, nor will I advise such a plan; and similarly I will not give a woman a pessary to cause an abortion.

But I will preserve the purity of my life and my arts.

I will not cut for stone, even for patients in whom the disease is manifest; I will leave this operation to be performed by practitioners, specialists in this art.

In every house where I come I will enter only for the good of my patients, keeping myself far from all intentional ill-doing and all seduction and especially from the pleasures of love with women or with men, be they free or slaves.

All that may come to my knowledge in the exercise of my profession or in daily commerce with men, which ought not to be spread abroad, I will keep secret and will never reveal.

If I keep this oath faithfully, may I enjoy my life and practice my art, respected by all men and in all times; but if I swerve from it or violate it, may the reverse be my lot.

...or even the Boy Scout Oath....

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boy_Scout_Oath#United_States_of_America

On my honor I will do my best
To do my duty to God and my country
and to obey the Scout Law;
To help other people at all times;
To keep myself physically strong,
mentally awake, and morally straight.

[230RN]

Doan matter crap nohow.   In general, the politurds don't honor their regular oaths of office in the first place.  "Just words on a ... piece of paper," thrown to the winds and forgotten.

Terry, 230RN

[vaskidmark]

Doan matter crap nohow.   In general, the politurds don't honor their regular oaths of office in the first place.  "Just words on a ... piece of paper," thrown to the winds and forgotten.

Terry, 230RN

See, if they were given the Code of the West to swear to, they'd understand about not squatting with their spurs on and not drinking downstream from the herd and such, which might, just might, have some influence on how they treated us underlings.

I'm not saying it would guarantee any major changes in behavior overnight, but anything that's got a chance ought to be looked at.

Of course, my favorite idea for weeding the graft & corruption out of polictitters is to a) make the position an unpaid volunteer gig, and b) require that they live and eat at the YMCA for the entire term of office, take the bus to work, and undergo a monthly IRS-style audit to check to see if there is any "hidden income".

I know, I've overdosed on my meds again and am hallucinating.  But the colors are pretty.

stay safe.

[Jamie B]

"I won't be wronged, I won't be insulted, and I won't be laid a hand on.
I don't do these things to other people, and I require the same from them".
 J.B. Books, The Shootist (John Wayne)

[Tallpine]

"I won't be wronged, I won't be insulted, and I won't be laid a hand on.
I don't do these things to other people, and I require the same from them".
 J.B. Books, The Shootist (John Wayne)

Works for me 

[Hawkmoon]

Speaking of ethics and adult examples:

I am currently initiating a dispute with my newly-adopted daughter's high school over math class. There are several issues that directly affect MY daughter, but I tossed into the pot the fact that her class is doing homework from photocopied pages from some workbook. One of my issues is that each problem refers to a page and problem number in a reference book (textbook? Workbook? Dunno) that has not been given to the kids.

Strike one -- what's the point of references to explanations the kids don't have?

Strike two - last I knew, textbooks and educational materials were copyrighted, and making and handing out volume copies of copyrighted material was against the law. Ironically, the school has a strict written policy against plagiarism ... but apparently no policy against theft of intellectual property by faculty.

It's going to be interesting. I was class president at this school 50 years ago ... now I get to back and reprise my role of perpetual thorn in every administrator's side.

[230RN]

Proabably copied from the pages of a Teacher's edition, which gives the pages for the answers.

Might be from an edition which is so old that the copyright has expired.

I have a physics book from the 1920s or so --maybe earlier --which is like that.  Kind of amusing how little of Newtonian physics has changed.  MV still equals M'V'... imagine that!

(At least for "household" velocities.)

Unfortunately, the Codes of Morality have not changed much in the past umpteen years... only the interpretations thereof.  Hence we now have the concept of "relativity" in what's right and wrong.

Me first, then you.  Maybe.

Terry, 230RN

[griz]

Call me skeptical that it will matter even a little to them.  They already swear to uphold the constitution and I honestly think many of them haven't even read it.

[Regolith]

Strike two - last I knew, textbooks and educational materials were copyrighted, and making and handing out volume copies of copyrighted material was against the law. Ironically, the school has a strict written policy against plagiarism ... but apparently no policy against theft of intellectual property by faculty.

There's an education exception to copyright law.

 
 17 U.S.C. § 107

    Notwithstanding the provisions of sections 17 U.S.C. § 106 and 17 U.S.C. § 106A, the fair use of a copyrighted work, including such use by reproduction in copies or phonorecords or by any other means specified by that section, for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching (including multiple copies for classroom use), scholarship, or research, is not an infringement of copyright. In determining whether the use made of a work in any particular case is a fair use the factors to be considered shall include:

           1. the purpose and character of the use, including whether such use is of a commercial nature or is for nonprofit educational purposes;
           2. the nature of the copyrighted work;
           3. the amount and substantiality of the portion used in relation to the copyrighted work as a whole; and
           4. the effect of the use upon the potential market for or value of the copyrighted work.

    The fact that a work is unpublished shall not itself bar a finding of fair use if such finding is made upon consideration of all the above factors.[1]

[Hawkmoon]

1. the purpose and character of the use, including whether such use is of a commercial nature or is for nonprofit educational purposes;
           2. the nature of the copyrighted work;
           3. the amount and substantiality of the portion used in relation to the copyrighted work as a whole; and
           4. the effect of the use upon the potential market for or value of the copyrighted work.

No fair only looking at the first of four criteria.

If the teacher photocopied a few paragraphs out of War and Peace I am sure that would be within "fair use." But copying the math problems out of a math problem workbook and handing them out to the students, rather than just buying each student a copy of the math problem workbook, most likely would NOT be construed as fair use. The mere fact that it is being used in a classroom is not a blanket excuse. The work being copied was created specifically FOR use in the classroom (see #2 above). By photocopying the problems, the teacher is avoiding the purchase of the books (see #3 above), and thus depriving the holder of the copyright of income from their intellectual property (see #4 above).

[230RN]

vaskidmark

Of course, my favorite idea for weeding the graft & corruption out of polictitters is to a) make the position an unpaid volunteer gig, and b) require that they live and eat at the YMCA for the entire term of office, take the bus to work, and undergo a monthly IRS-style audit to check to see if there is any "hidden income"

I'll go along with everything but the "volunteer" part.  My thinking is folks who would volunteer are not the best choice.  Their motivations might not have a monetary basis, but rather a "do gooder" basis.  Which is dangerous. MacWendyKing's would only be allowed to sell tofuburgers.

I might go along with a random draft of legislators from the general population, though. 

I can't recall who wisecracked that they'd rather be governed by the first 400 people in the Boston phone book  --was that Wm. F. Buckley?

Well, I'd object to Boston, but I'd maybe go along with, say, a random selection from a Social Security number pool of potential legislative draftees from across the nation.

Sure, half of them would be below average intelligence.  But the other half...

Couldn't be worse than what we've got now.

And not so many of them would be lawyers.

Terry, 230RN

[Boomhauer]

Of course, my favorite idea for weeding the graft & corruption out of polictitters is to a) make the position an unpaid volunteer gig, and b) require that they live and eat at the YMCA for the entire term of office, take the bus to work, and undergo a monthly IRS-style audit to check to see if there is any "hidden income".

Honestly, I'm leaning more towards the idea of a constant reminder of taring and feathering as a way to keep politcritters in line...suggest some communist trash, get tarred, feathered, and run out of town on a rail in front of everybody...