First assignment is a current event. To this point in class, we've mostly just talked about ethics, what ethics and morality are, the difference between them, and so on. I actually haven't read anything recently that stuck out to me when I think of ethics in technology or anywhere for that matter, so I turned to Bing and Google news searches for some material.
The most prominent hit (and by that, I mean it turned up four or five different sources in the top results) was this article about a top Republican consultant who lied about the work he did for a Georgia congressman. It looks like this consultant worked for the congressman in an official capacity, for which work he should have been paid from office accounts, but he also helped the congressman with campaign activities and debate preparation, for which he should have been paid using campaign funds. Apparently, the deal was that he was paid using funds that should not have been used to pay him and then he lied about it. He was "charged with a federal crime for lying to the House Office of Congressional Ethics" and it looks like this is the first time that this has ever happened.
I thought it was particularly ironic that not only was he unethical in that he was lying about the type of work he did and how he was paid for it, but that his unethical deeds were committed while speaking to the group that is in charge of making sure that everyone in the political circles of Congress behaves in an ethical manner. Seems like a good time to bring up the old adage, "cheaters never prosper".
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