From James Taranto
The Shmethicist
The Spokane (Wash.) Spokesman-Review has decided to discontinue Randy Cohen's "Ethicist" column from the New York Times. The decision is the result of MSNBC's report, which we noted Thursday, that Cohen had donated hundreds of dollars to MoveOn.org despite his employer's prohibition on such contributions.
In the comments section of the SSR's blog, features editor Ken Paulman imagines Cohen offering ethical advice to himself:
Q: My employer has a clear policy against campaign contributions. I think I should be exempt from this policy and allowed to make donations, because I don't see any difference between this and other forms of civic involvement. What should I do?
A: By all means, ignore the policy, quietly make your contribution, and hope that no one finds out. If you get caught, agree to abide by the policy in the future, but don't acknowledge any wrongdoing--you'll be able to rationalize it after the fact.
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