Is there an Ethicist in the House?

I am interrupting my series on "What is Gary Sweeten up to now?" to report on some national news of note. As some of you might know, the New York Times is considered to be one of the top news organization in the world. Many other news groups regularly use the NYT as a source of wisdom and factual reporting. Recently, however, the Times has reported several things that are, in fact, lies, distortions and politically correct wishes.

Even more recently, a reporter for MSNBC dug deep into tax records to find that some almost all reporters and columnists gave money to Democrat and Left Wing political groups. In all, 125 journalists gave to Democrats and liberal causes. Only 17 gave to Republicans. Two gave to both parties.

One guy, Randy Cohen, writes a column for the NYT on ethical issues. People write in and ask Mr. Cohen tough questions about ethical concerns and he gives them his wisdom, insights and suggestions. However, Randy's employers, the NYT, has a rule against any reporter giving money to a political cause that might compromise his/her objectivity.

When MSNBC discovered his acts and published them, Mr. Ethicist Wise Man said something like, "It was OK to disobey the rule because it is just taking part of a community activity as a citizen."

Now Mr. Ethicist weighs in on a very tough dilemma. He gives his wise and thoughtful advice to a "Mrs. KV from Brooklyn who asks: "Should I fire my psychotic nanny? She is from Haiti and is in America illegally. I fear that I need to fire her 'to protect my children.'"

Cohen urges her not to fire the nanny. He says:

You are restrained not only by ethics but also by the spirit of the Americans with Disabilities Act. An attorney I consulted says that if you ran a larger business, "to fire her would be illegal." Were she to stop taking her medication or otherwise display dangerous behavior, a business could dismiss her. Fortunately, as a stay-at-home mother, you can see if her condition deteriorates before anyone is imperiled.

Her immigration status already restricts her other employment prospects, and her limited options, as you imply, impose an additional ethical burden on you. If she can do the job, she should be allowed to keep it. (OpinionJournal [OpinionJournal@wsj.com] June 25, 2007)

This is so far fetched that it is quite unbelievable. This man is supposed to be a thoughtful ethicist who is objectively advising a woman to do the right thing. Yet, he suggests that she defy the laws of the United States while hinting that she might violate the American for Disabilities Act if she actually obeys the laws about immigration and also protects her kids from a mentally ill and possibly dangerous nanny.

The psychotic woman in question has better grasp on ethics than Mr. Cohen. No wonder we are having such a problem with the immigration debate. When the Times has loose cannons like Randy Cohen writing on a topic he can barely spell let alone discuss passing laws that protect our citizens is almost impossible.