Acton Institute PowerBlog - Entries from Thursday, October 27, 2005

From the Bureau of Goldfish Zoning and Canine Regulation

Thursday, October 27, 2005

Reuters reports Rome’s latest laws: Fish can’t be put in fish bowls and dogs must follow a mandatory exercise schedule.

“It’s good to do whatever we can for our animals who in exchange for a little love fill our existence with their attention,” said Monica Cirinna, the councilor behind the by-law.

“The civilization of a city can also be measured by this,” she told Rome daily Il Messaggero. (see article)

The civilization of a city can be measured by this—I think Signora Cirinna is right. These laws are a sign of the decline of Rome’s civilization. With the amount of debt brought about by socialist policies in Italy, whether dogs are getting a good exercise or not should be at the bottom of Rome’s “To Worry About” list.

As one living in Rome, I can say, however, that there is a dog problem and it is not the dog’s lack of improper exercise. They are getting it. There is evidence of it along every street in Rome. And therein lies the problem. The owners do not pick up the filth of their attentive canine friends.

The civilization of a city can be measured by the level of freedom and virtues by which its people live. Proper stewardship of the environment and animals can not be imposed by policy and law. But it can be encourage by laws and policy which support the freedom to do so—laws and policy that are able to be executed. How do you enforce a law banning peoples use of fish bowls? Investigate homes? How do you make sure a dog is getting a proper exercise (a relative issue dependent on the species of the animal)?

Posted by in News and Events at 14:47 | Leave a comment | Trackback

Miers Withdraws

Thursday, October 27, 2005

And so the search for a replacement for Sandra Day O’Connor will continue:

Harriet Miers withdrew her nomination to be a U.S. Supreme Court justice Thursday in the face of strong criticism from President Bush’s most conservative supporters, who say she doesn’t have the qualifications or experience necessary to serve on the nation’s highest court.

Posted by Marc Vander Maas in News and Events at 10:36 | Leave a comment | Trackback

Gracious Competition

Thursday, October 27, 2005

So often we are bombarded with news of businesses accusing others of unfair trade practices, intentional competition smashing, monopolization, etc. Every once in a while, its good to hear about the good business that goes on, the appreciation that one company has for another, and a customer oriented view of production. In that spirit, I offer up two companies: Adobe (the creators of the PDF and Photoshop) and Apple. Apple’s recent foray into the image-editing world with the release of Aperture has many people intrigued about the possibilities of Apple trying to take marketshare from Adobe. John Nack, the program manager for Photoshop at Adobe has this to say from the Adobe Blog:

“And you know, to the degree that Aperture stirs things up, I’m excited. [Photoshop] CS2 wouldn’t be all it is today without the apps I mentioned keeping us on our toes, and the more tools offer solutions for photographers, the better off customers will be. So in the spirit of the Apple of yore, I say Welcome Apple. Seriously.”

Nack acknowledges that Aperture is a useful and easy application to use, and is thankful for it. Nack understands that in order to best serve the clients of Adobe, competition is neccessary. Competition is what drives a company to improve a product. Competition drives innovation. Competition drives the market.

Posted by Jonathan Spalink in Business and Society at 09:58 | Leave a comment | Trackback

'The Donald' on Success and Responsibility

Thursday, October 27, 2005

Real estate mogul and reality show guru Donald Trump made a guest appearance on the NBC soap opera “Days of Our Lives” last week and, in a real stretch, he played himself. The brief cameo was in the context of Mr. Trump’s visit to the Horton Foundation, a charity based in the fictional town of Salem. The dialogue between Trump and Mickey Horton gives us some insight into Donald Trump’s view of economic success and the resulting responsibility:

Donald Trump
Mickey: Thank you very much, Mr. Trump, for your generous contribution to the Horton Foundation on its anniversary. And I can assure you that it will be put to very good use.

Donald: Well, I’m glad to do what I can, Mickey. I’ve always believed that with success comes a responsibility, and that responsibility is very important — helping those in need. Your foundation’s been doing a great job for a long time. Happy 40th anniversary, and keep up the great work.

Mickey: We’ll try. I want to thank you for taking time out of your very busy schedule to come all the way up here to Salem.

Donald: I’ve been hearing so much for so long about what you’ve been doing, and I really had to come up and see the place for myself. It’s great. It’s really terrific.

Now of course in many ways this view might be an artifact of the need to find some device for Donald Trump to appear on “Days”. But this season of Trump’s reality show, “The Apprentice”, gives us some other clues in this regard.

On his own show, the reward for the winning team in Week 3 was to “give back to the community” by “distributing tens of thousands of dollars worth of free electronics to kids in the hospital.” This is in distinction to past rewards, which include jet-set getaways and expensive jewelry and gifts.

Joy to the World: Mark enjoys his time with hospitalized kids during Excel’s Santa Claus moment. (Week 3: Tech Expo)

(Kevin T. Gilbert/Blue Pixel)

“It puts everything into perspective,” said Josh. “You can’t really quantify the value of giving a gift and a smile to a kid.” Added Mark, “It was like being Santa Claus.”

And on Martha Stewart’s version of “The Apprentice”, for which Trump serves as executive producer, the Week 2 reward again was “an opportunity to give back to New York City. The corporation banded together with New York Cares to help the Hudson Guild community organization create a garden in Manhattan’s Chelsea district. They transformed a dingy dirt patch into a beautiful oasis of flowers outside the Guild’s new recreation, arts, and children’s center. Working alongside volunteers and neighborhood children, the candidates of Primarius [the winning team] were touched by the joy of giving.”

These are just some of the most recent examples of compassion coming to the small screen. The newest show this season is NBC’s “Three Wishes”, hosted by Christian musician Amy Grant. I’ve discussed before the issue of mixed-motives in the commercialization of compassion, especially with respect to ABC’s “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition”. I’m still inclined to give such shows the benefit of the doubt…whatever the motivations, there is good being done. And even if there is duplicity and the motive is purely that of economic self-interest, this merely attests to the foundational reality of mutually beneficial exchange at the heart of the market system.

This post has been crossposted to Blogcritics.org.

Posted by Jordan J. Ballor in Effective Compassion at 09:20 | Leave a comment | Trackback