<b>Some Problems with Mayoral Executive Orders in Philadelphia</b><br>
On January 25, Philadelphia Mayor Nutter signed three ethics-related
executive orders, which I would love to link you to, but cannot.
How effective, except as a way to get the council moving on ethics reform, are executive orders that can't be found online? These orders deal with nepotism, family-oriented conflicts, outside
employment, and gifts.<br>
<br>

A recent decision of the Wilton, NY ethics board (attached; see below)
raises important issues regarding the selection of ethics commission
members, their withdrawal from participation when they have a conflict, and the way an ethics commission handles allegations that are
not covered by the ethics code.<br>
<br>

<i>This blog post was partially rewritten on March 24, 2011 after communication with the EC's executive director.</i><br>
<br>
The actions of one member of <a href="http://klec.ky.gov/default.htm&quot; target="”_blank”">Kentucky's
state
legislative ethics commission</a> has undermined the public's view of the EC and of the state's lawyer

<b>Seeking Order in Government</b><br>
All government officials seek order, not just in the sense of law and
order, but also in the sense of having everyone
know their roles, their authority, and their relationships to other
individuals and agencies.<br>
<br>
Nonviolent actors seek order in societies where some kinds of disorder
are taken for granted, for example, in dictatorships that have usurped
authority and destroyed relationships.<br>
<br>

Violence happens. The world is violent. People are naturally violent.
This is what people say.<br>
<br>
Politicians are all crooks. Government ethics is an oxymoron. Don't be
so naïve. This is what people say.<br>
<br>

It's always nice to know that your discipline is at the heart of what
it means to be human. <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/15/science/15humans.html&quot; target="”_blank”">In
Tuesday's New York <i>Times</i> Science Section</a>,
Nicholas Wade wrote:<ul>

In his book <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Search-Nonviolent-Future-Ourselves-Families/dp/19…; target="”_blank”">The
Search
for
a
Nonviolent
Future</a>, Michael N. Nagler talks about two models for looking at
violence that are also relevant to government ethics, the medical model and the educational model.<br>
<br>

According to <a href="http://www.wkow.com/Global/story.asp?S=14276368&quot; target="”_blank”">articles
on the WKOW TV (Madison, WI)  website</a>, this morning a
Wisconsin judge placed a restraining order to stop a controversial
budget repair bill from becoming law. The principal cause of action was
a violation of the state's open meetings law. However, the names of
four legislative leaders were taken off the suit due to their

<b>Update:</b> March 19, 2011 (see below)<br>
<br>
Last December I wrote <a href="http://www.cityethics.org/content/pay-play-culture-prince-georges-count…; target="”_blank”">a
long blog post</a> about the pay-to-play culture of Prince George's
County, Maryland. The new county executive and the county's state
representatives appear to have been working hard to make changes to end

In his book <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Search-Nonviolent-Future-Ourselves-Families/dp/19…; target="”_blank”">The
Search
for
a
Nonviolent
Future</a>, Michael N. Nagler wrote, "Anyone who plucks up
the courage to offer an
opponent a way out of their conflict can find herself or himself