BARBARA'S TCHATZKAHS

2009 may well be re­mem­bered for its scandal-ridden head­lines, from ad­mis­sions of ex­tra­mar­i­tal af­fairs by gov­er­nors and sen­a­tors, to cor­po­rate ex­ec­u­tives fly­ing pri­vate jets while cut­ting em­ploy­ee ben­e­fits, and most re­cent­ly, to a mys­te­ri­ous early morn­ing car crash in Flor­i­da. The past year has been marked by a se­ries of mor­al trans­gres­sions by pow­er­ful fig­ures in po­lit­i­cal, busi­ness and celebr­ity cir­cles. A new study ex­plores why pow­er­ful peo­ple – many of whom take a mor­al high ground – don’t prac­tice what they preach. Above, a ses­sion of U.S. Con­gress pre­pares to lis­ten to the pre­si­dent's State of the Union Speech in a 2003 White House photo. A new study ex­plores why pow­er­ful peo­ple – many of whom take a mor­al high ground – don’t prac­tice what they preach. Re­search­ers sought to de­ter­mine wheth­er pow­er in­spires hy­poc­ri­sy, the ten­den­cy to hold high stan­dards for oth­ers while per­form­ing mor­ally sus­pect...

I tripped on this article while helping one of my kids with an over-the summer project. What it fails to do, scientifically - is account for those who SAY they have high morals and ethics or BELIEVE they have high morals and ethics... But their actions prove otherwise! (these are usually personality disordered pathological Cluster Bs... who pass for normal but lie like they breathe.) Hey Barack, Gov. Sanford, John Edwards -- you listening? Oddly, Hypocrisy Rooted in High Morals by Jeanna Bryner Morally upstanding people are the do-gooders of society, right? Actually, a new study finds that a sense of moral superiority can lead to unethical acts, such as cheating. In fact, some of the best do-gooders can become the worst cheats. Stop us if this sounds familiar. When asked to describe themselves, most people typically will rattle off a list of physical features and activities (for example, "I do yoga" or "I'm a paralegal"). But some people have what scientists c...

By James Kirchick With Benjamin Netanyahu set to become Israel's prime minister, critics around the world are proclaiming the death of the peace process. And the fact that Avigdor Lieberman - who has called for all Israeli citizens (not just Arabs) to swear a loyalty oath and supports population transfers with the Palestinians - may become Israel's foreign minister has only exacerbated the fervor of these predictions. In this analysis, it is the incoming conservative government of Israel which poses a threat to regional stability, not Palestinian rejectionism or the machinations of Iran and Syria and their proxies Hamas and Hezbollah. The height of this thinking was apparent at Tuesday night's White House press conference, when Agence France-Presse reporter Stefan Collison asked President Obama, "How realistic do you think those hopes \[for Middle East peace\] are now, given the likelihood of a prime minister who is not fully signed up to a two-state solution and a for...

Usually I fall on the opposite side of things from Michelle Malkin - but this piece of hers was so on target and truthfully funny I am reposting some excerpts here: The Kabuki Theater of AIG Outrage by Michelle Malkin All the world’s a stage, wrote Shakespeare, and in the world of Washington, the curtains have opened on the most elaborate farce of the year. Welcome, taxpayers, to the Kabuki Theater of AIG Outrage – where D.C.’s histrionic enablers of taxpayer-funded corporate bailouts compete for Best Performance of Hypocritical Indignation. Over the weekend, cloaked in their finest populist costumes, the Beltway’s hair-sprayed and powdered politicians and White House aides took to the airwaves to inveigh against $165 million in employee retention payments paid out by the government-backed insurance giant. Those bennies were reportedly part of a larger $450 million round of bonuses. After subpoenaing AIG, New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo informed Congress that 73 employees in the...

As I walked out my door today, I breathed in the lovely May air. My lilac bush is flourishing and my newly planted alium are about to flower, my windchimes tinkled softly and birds chirped around my birdbath; in short - it's a wonderful day. And my wonderful day is unspoilable. Why? Because of the below. The journalist I like to hate , the worst hire the 'New York Times' ever made (among numerous poor decisions), warmonger and narcissist-supreme - Thomas Friedman - was pied. Yes, I said PIED. Greenwash Guerrillas Pie Thomas Friedman at Brown University YouTube Censors Video; Pie Thrower Faces University Disciplinary Procedures For the video of this momentous event - CLICK HERE Providence, RI - New York Times columnist and author Thomas Friedman was pied by the Greenwash Guerillas while giving an Earth Day Lecture at Brown University. The Greenwash Guerillas targeted Thomas Friedman because of his support for U.S. military intervention in the Middle East, neo-liberal econ...

THE FALLEN MIGHTY Why is it that the most self-righteous or homophobic or religious and/or outwardly Puritanical politicians (on either side of the aisle) always end up in some horrible scandal? Like David Vitter, Mark Foley, Bob Allen and now - Senator Craig's bathroom hijinks. It follows that the people I have known who make the most noise: "I would NEVER see a hooker!" or "I am not gay" (just two of the various comments I've heard over the years from hypocrites) are seeing high end hookers, having gay sex on their lunch hours or after work. And it seems the more extreme they are in their beliefs, the more pervy they are in real life. What the heck? Do these guys really think just SAYING it will help them cope? Or that we are that blind & stupid? If you're gay, so what - be gay and move on to the issues. And stop with the "my wife & I have moved on" crap. Vitter's wife said prior to this she'd cut his 'family jewe...