The Puritans at Boeing (from: Dan Gillmor)
http://dangillmor.typepad.com/dan_gillmor_on_grassroots/2005/03/the_puritans_at.html
Europe must no doubt be thrilled to see America’s latest idiotic puritan spanking: the firing of Boeing’s CEO, Harry Stonecipher. He had an affair, and the board tossed him out, saying Stonecipher himself had created a no-second-chance ethics policy that left no choice.
Why would Europe be happy? Because that’s Airbus, the only serious competitor to Boeing in the civilian aircraft market, is located. Seeing its adversary thrown into such turmoil over something so minor has to be a big win for Airbus.
Anyway, it’s close to inconceivable that a European company would toss overboard a CEO for having an affair with another adult. In fact, it’s totally inconceivable. An affair makes the guy look bad, but what on earth does it have to do with his job?
Maybe, as the linked Seattle Times story suggests, something else is going on — because this firing doesn’t make a lot of sense.
Or maybe America is turning into a nation that has totally lost proportion.