Trump is the Pedagogical Gift that Keeps on Giving

Some people, events and sources seemingly never cease to provide teaching opportunities and materials for our courses on law and ethics.  I have previously credited Lindsay Lohan for the treasure trove of litigation that her travails have provided.  But I think that Donald Trump has, and will for many years, provide us with a wealth of teachable moments.

Today's example comes from his comments in the presidential debate. First, when challenged by Secretary Clinton over his failure to pay income taxes, Mr. Trump responded as indicated in the video clip below from the second debate:

In the first :50 of the clip below from the first debate, Mr. Trump gave his view on business regulations:


So, placing Mr.Trump's positions side by side, we hear:

"Don't rely on business people to do the right thing on their own.  Socially responsible conduct must be enforced by law.  But laws that seek to enforce socially responsible conduct are bad for business and government should reduce or eliminate them."

Is this just another iteration of the narrative of: "Regulations that protect me from that other guy are good, but regulations that protect the other guy from me are oppressive."?

Regardless of what happens in the election, Donald Trump has now become the most visible example of American business culture and conduct.  Students may see a failure to counter these examples in a business ethics course as affirmation of their value. Is this the business culture that we seek to foster in our students?

Is KFC up to No Good, Again?

Back in 2004, KFC got into a jam with the FTC over claims that its chicken meals were healthier than Burger King Whoppers. That factual claim turned out to be a whopper of its own.

Now TMZ is reporting that a woman has sued KFC for $20 M because the $20 "Family Fill Up" bucket of chicken she bought looked nothing like the visual presentation of the product in the advertisements. In the advertisements, some of which are reproduced below, the meal includes an overflowing bucket of large chicken pieces. The unhappy customer quipped of her purchase:

“They say it feeds the whole family … They’re showing a bucket that’s overflowing with chicken.” . . . “You get half a bucket! That’s false advertising, and it doesn’t feed the whole family. They’re small pieces!”

At the time of publication of this post, no details about the form or make-up of the lawsuit were available.

Thought Provoking Law Quote: Mitt Romney

Should government regulate business? According to Mitt Romney, CEO and former (and future?) Republican candidate for President of the United States, the answer is that "regulation is essential." It's just that the devil is in the details.

Regulation is essential.  You can't have a free market work if you don't have regulation. As a businessperson I had to have regula[tions]. I needed to know the regulations. I needed them there.  You couldn't have people opening up banks in their garage (sic) and making loans. I mean you have to have regulation so that you can have an economy work.  Every free economy has good regulation. At the same time, regulation can become excessive.

- Mitt Romney, Presidential Debate, Oct. 2012


Clip with context (first 0:45):


Short clip without the qualifying hedge line at the end:

Thought Provoking Law Quote: Theodore Roosevelt

The LSCB today introduces a new recurring feature. Though Provoking Law Quotes will hopefully provide an opportunity to spice up your PPT lecture slides or syllabi or suggest a discussion starter for your class.  I encourage readers to send me your favorite thought provoking quotes and I will be happy to share them for you on the LSC blog.

"Industry, therefore, must submit to such public regulation as will make it a means of life and health and not of death or inefficiency. We must protect the crushable elements at the base of our present industrial structure"
  - Theodore Roosevelt speech on Social and Industrial Justice, 1912


Hear Roosevelt in his own words advocate for a living wage and condemn courts that block social progress. The quote above comes up around the 2:05 mark.

Proposed Administrative Rule: Take a Nature Photo, Pay a Fine.

The U.S. Forest Service has published a proposed rule requiring members of the press to obtain a $1,500 permit to take photographs in national forests or risk a fine of $1,000 for each photo taken. The Forest Service claims that the rule is required in order to carry out the mandate of the Wilderness Act of 1964, which aims to protect wilderness areas from being exploited for commercial gain. It's hard to imagine how sharing, or even selling, photographs of natural environment exposes the environment to exploitation. Not to mention, what would happen in the event of a news story such as a forest fire or a fugitive on the run or even forest service mismanagement of the land.  This sounds like infringement on freedom of the press, and I am not seeing the requisite compelling governmental interest.

According to this NPR story, the head of the Forestry Service says that the agency exercises its discretion to distinguish between real news coverage and commercial activity.

Depending where you're at in the country, whether you're a reporter, a journalist or a commercial filmmaker, when you would ask to be able to do your activity, you'd get a different answer.

That sounds to me like the opposite of how an administrative rule is supposed to work.  The rule should limit an administrator's discretion so that it applies across the board without being tainted by favoritism or abuse.

The comment period runs until Nov. 4, 2012.

The following pictures were taken in National Forests.

White River National Forest.
Source:http://nice-cool-pics.com/img-maroon-bells,-white-river-national-forest-4153.htm

Bridger-Teton National Forest. 

source: http://www.fs.fed.us/wildflowers/regions/intermountain/ 

 

Law Music Video: The Chemical Worker's Song by Great Big Sea

This week the law music video is The Chemical Worker's Song by Great Big Sea.  

What is the nature of "industry" and what role should law play in its regulation of worker safety, consumer safety, financial dealings, etc.?

A Picture is Worth a Thousand Little White Lies

The British Advertising Standards Authority has taken action to ban a Christian Dior mascara ad featuring Natalie Portman.  The ad portrays results that cannot be achieved by use of the product. The agency ruling noted that Dior called the ad portrayal as "aspirational," admitting the lashes were re-touched after the photo shoot. In the US, the FDA and the FTC have periodically taken action against cosmetics advertisers. But in this case, no complaint has been made.The British regulatory action followed a complaint by a competitor. In the US, apparently, no one wants to "throw the first stone."



The Cover Girl ad featuring Taylor Swift, below, was pulled after the National Advertising Division of the Better Business Bureaus found it to be misleading. The Government didn't even have to get involved here.  Of course, the case was easily made since the ad's small print stated, "Lashes enhanced in post production."



Related posts on Deceptive Advertising: Activia ad, Ralph Lauren.

What Doesn't Kill You Makes You . . . Wish You Didn't Do It.

FDA regulations on prescription drug advertising requires that the potential risks from taking the drug be presented in balance with the potential benefits. An informed consumer can then make a rational decision whether or not to risk those "oily fecal discharges" as a tradeoff to curing some other malady.  See this related post.

Below are two ads for anti-depressants that have got to give one pause.

Federal Bureaucracy

Below is an introduction to the Federal Bureaucracy prepared by a couple of high school AP government teachers. They maintain the MyCitizenU youtube channel. You may find something else there that you can use.

Distinguishing Employees from Independent Contractors

This can often be a thorny issue, but it is important to be able to make the determination.  It can affect ownership of work product, responsibility for compliance with employment regulations and vicarious liability for civil or criminal wrongs.

Prior posts may also be helpful: Employee or Independent Contractor; Shot Girls: Employees or Independent Contractors?

Does the Government Have a Sense of Humor?

An ad from British retailer Sofa King similar to the one below has been banned by the United Kingdom Advertising Standards Agency:






Where is the Ministry for the Protection of Cleverness when you need it?

Click HERE or on image below for Saturday Night Live skit:

Do I Really Need That Prescription Drug?

Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regulations require that if prescription drug manufacturers make representations in advertisements about what their products can cure, then they must also make disclosure about the potential side effects of the drug.  This is one way that the regualtory system works to protect the consumer.  Commercials, such as the examples below, make a viewer understandably cautious about their prescription drug intake.





The Celebrex commercial below is an example of the other kind of ad - one that makes no positive claims  and therefore need not disclose potential side effects.



Unfortunately, I was not able to find a video of the more recent Celebrex ads to exhibit the category of "language butcherng ads." The new ads warn that "patients taking aspirin and the elderly are at increased risk of stomach bleeding and ulcers." Where are those patients taking the elderly?

Law Lessong - Administrative Runaround

The next installment in the “Law Lessong” series is Administrative Runaround.  This simple video and song from a Power Point presentation helps students consider aspects of Administrative Law, including rulemaking, enforcement and adjudication.  Please excuse the "Dylan-esque" harmonica playing.
Learn more about Law Lessongs from the post found here.  More videos may be found at my youtube channel. Please feel free to use them in the classroom or as assignments or in any way that they work for you as an educational resource.

Rulemaking Matters! Let Your Voice be Heard

In 2010, the EPA conducted a contest seeking video submissions on the topic "Rulemaking Matters." The video was required to include the spoken or written phrase "Let your voice be heard." many of the submissions can be easily found on YouTube by searching either of the quoted catchphrases above.

This one was the winner.


Here is another useful one.

"OSHA Would Have a Field Day . . .

. . . at Willie Wonka's Chocolate Factory." Credit for this punch line goes to Rick Stromoski and his Soup to Nutz comic strip. The video below can be used as a unique introduction to the workings of administrative agencies.