The Greed Beneath the Gravel

 

How Politicians Profit While Americans Struggle

Introduction

In a nation where millions live paycheck to paycheck, where homelessness is no longer a distant tragedy but a local reality, and where wages stagnate while corporate profits soar—there exists a quiet scandal that rarely makes headlines: politicians profiting from insider trading.

Power and Profit: A Dangerous Mix

Members of Congress have access to sensitive, market-moving information long before the public. From defense contracts to pharmaceutical approvals, their committee meetings and briefings often contain the kind of intelligence Wall Street would pay millions for. And some politicians don’t just sit on this information—they trade on it.

This isn’t speculation. It’s documented. It’s systemic. And it’s largely unpunished.

The STOCK Act: A Toothless Shield

In 2012, Congress passed the STOCK Act, requiring lawmakers to disclose their trades within 45 days. It was hailed as a victory for transparency. But over a decade later, it’s clear the law is more symbolic than effective.

Violations are rampant:

·        Over 60 members of Congress violated the STOCK Act in recent years.

·        Trades worth millions were disclosed months or even years late.

·        Fines? Often just $200, and frequently waived.

There are no bans on trading individual stocks. No meaningful oversight. And no real consequences.

Known Cases, Weak Punishments

Let’s name names:

·        Rep. Rick Allen (R-GA): Up to 6.5 years late reporting trades worth $8.5 million.

·        Rep. Pat Fallon (R-TX): Disclosed $17.5 million in trades months late.

·        Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-AL): Late on 130 trades.

·        Rep. Diana Harshbarger (R-TN): Failed to report 700 trades worth up to $10.9 million.

These aren’t isolated incidents. They’re patterns. And they reveal a culture where greed is normalized, and ethics are optional.

Pump-and-Dump Politics?

While no politician has been formally charged with a pump-and-dump scheme, the behavior of some—like Donald Trump hyping and crashing markets via social media—raises serious questions. When a former president tweets “THIS IS A GREAT TIME TO BUY!!! DJT” after tanking markets with tariff threats, it’s hard not to see the manipulation.

A Moral Call to Action

This is not just about legality. It’s about morality.

While politicians quietly enrich themselves, teachers work two jobs, veterans sleep on sidewalks, and families ration insulin. The contrast is grotesque. It’s a betrayal of public service. And it’s a symptom of a deeper rot: a political culture that rewards self-interest over service, wealth over wisdom, and greed over governance.

We must demand:

·        A ban on individual stock trading for all elected officials.

·        Real penalties for violations.

·        A renewed commitment to ethical leadership.

Because until we hold power accountable, the suffering of everyday Americans will remain the cost of political luxury.

About the Author

Daryl Horton is a technical and creative writer who is passionate about being creative. He has comprehensive training in business information management, information systems management, and creative and technical writing. Daryl has the knowledge and skills to help organizations optimize their performance and maximize their potential. He spent several years in a Knowledge Management PhD program at Walden University, nearly completing it, but resigned from the program during his dissertation phase to pursue his passion for creativity (http://www.abolitic.com/). Despite his love for creativity, he often finds himself participating in groups where his technical experiences add value.

You can find more information about Daryl Horton on his LinkedIn page at https://www.linkedin.com/in/darylhorton/.

Resources

STOCK Act Violations and Weak Enforcement

Newsweek: Members of Congress Who May Have Flouted the STOCK Act

Raw Story: 62 Members of Congress Violated STOCK Act

Truthout: Investigation Finds 48 Members Violated STOCK Act

Campaign Legal Center: Complaints Against Seven Members

Insider Trading Scandals Involving Politicians

Wikipedia: 2020 Congressional Insider Trading Scandal

DOJ: Former Congressman Christopher Collins Sentenced

NBC News: Stephen Buyer Sentenced for Insider Trading

Pump-and-Dump Allegations and DOJ Case

DOJ: $214 Million Seized in China Liberal Education Holdings Fraud

FOX 32 Chicago: 7 Indicted in $214M Pump-and-Dump Scheme

Trump’s DJT Stock and Market Manipulation Allegations

Outlook Business: Trump’s ‘Buy Now’ Tweet Sparks Allegations

Firstpost: Allegations of Market Manipulation Amid Tariff Pause

Proposed Reforms: ETHICS Act

Congresswoman Jen Kiggans: ETHICS Act Announcement

Congress.gov: ETHICS Act Bill Text (S.1171)

Campaign Legal Center: ETHICS Act Could End Stock Trading Scandals

How to Win by Losing

 

How to Win by Losing: The U.S. Paradox of Memory and Power

In the United States, the past is not just remembered—it’s curated. Confederate army parades still march under the guise of heritage, while books that illuminate the brutal truths of slavery, systemic racism, and oppression are being pulled from shelves. This contradiction reveals a deeper truth: in America, you can win the narrative by losing the war—if your story serves power.

The Confederacy lost the Civil War, but its symbols persist. Statues stand tall, flags fly, and reenactments unfold with fanfare. These displays are defended as cultural heritage, even though they glorify a regime built on the enslavement of Black people. Meanwhile, books that challenge this sanitized version of history—books by Black authors, books about racism, books that tell the truth—are being banned in schools and libraries.

This is not just historical amnesia. It’s strategic forgetting.

Contrast this with Germany, where Nazi symbols are outlawed and Holocaust education is mandatory. Germany’s stance is clear: never again. The past is confronted, not celebrated. The pain is acknowledged, not erased.

Imagine if Germany allowed Nazi parades while banning books about the Holocaust. The world would recoil. Yet in the U.S., this paradox is reality.

How did we get here?

The answer lies in how power shapes memory. Confederate symbols persist because they serve a narrative that resists accountability. Book bans thrive because truth threatens that narrative. The result is a nation where oppression is commemorated, but resistance is censored.

This is how you win by losing: you lose the war, but you win the story. You lose the moral ground, but you win the cultural space. You lose the battle for justice, but you win the right to define what justice means.

If we are to move forward, we must reject this false victory. We must confront the full weight of our history—not just the parts that comfort us, but the parts that challenge us. Because real victory doesn’t come from forgetting. It comes from remembering—and reckoning.

About the Author

Daryl Horton is a technical and creative writer who is passionate about being creative. He has comprehensive training in business information management, information systems management, and creative and technical writing. Daryl has the knowledge and skills to help organizations optimize their performance and maximize their potential. He spent several years in a Knowledge Management PhD program at Walden University, nearly completing it, but resigned from the program during his dissertation phase to pursue his passion for creativity (http://www.abolitic.com/). Despite his love for creativity, he often finds himself participating in groups where his technical experiences add value.

You can find more information about Daryl Horton on his LinkedIn page at https://www.linkedin.com/in/darylhorton/.

Reimagine Ethics

 

Reimagine Ethics in a World Obsessed with Winning

Ethics has been taught for centuries, yet society continues to reward success without conscience. From sports and entertainment to corporate leadership, we glorify those who accumulate wealth and visibility, while undervaluing the people who sustain our communities—caregivers, educators, laborers, and public servants. This imbalance reveals a deeper failure: ethics, as traditionally taught, has not disrupted the systems that reward exploitation and neglect. To make ethics meaningful, we must reimagine it—not as a set of abstract rules, but as a lived practice rooted in justice, empathy, and service. Ethics education must center the invisible, challenge the myth of meritocracy, and redefine success as contribution, not status. Only then can ethics become a force for transformation in a world that desperately needs it.

Manifesto for Reimagining Ethics Education

Preamble

In a world where success is glamorized, wealth is worshipped, and power is protected, ethics must evolve. It must no longer be a passive reflection of ideals but an active force for justice, equity, and transformation. This manifesto calls for a radical reimagining of ethics education—one that empowers the many, not just the successful few.

Principles

1.      Ethics Must Be Lived, Not Lectured

Ethics education must move beyond theory. It must be embodied in practice, rooted in community, and responsive to real-world dilemmas.

2.      Center the Invisible

We must elevate the voices and labor of those who sustain society—caregivers, educators, laborers, and healers. Their moral contributions must be recognized, valued, and taught.

3.      Expose the Myth of Meritocracy

Ethics must confront the false narrative that success is always earned. It must reveal how systems of privilege, exclusion, and inherited advantage shape outcomes.

4.      Teach Ethical Disobedience

Students must be equipped to challenge unjust norms, question authority, and resist systems that harm. Ethics must include civil disobedience, moral courage, and collective action.

5.      Integrate Ethics Across All Disciplines

Ethics is not a silo. It belongs in science, business, law, art, and technology. Every field must grapple with its moral impact.

6.      Measure Ethical Impact, Not Just Achievement

We must develop new metrics—ones that assess empathy, justice, and civic engagement. Success must be redefined.

7.      Reframe Success as Service

True success is not accumulation—it is contribution. Ethics must teach that dignity lies in service, not status.

Call to Action

We call on educators, institutions, communities, and individuals to:

·        Redesign curricula to reflect these principles.

·        Create spaces for ethical dialogue and dissent.

·        Support those who live ethically, even when it costs them.

·        Challenge systems that reward exploitation and neglect.

 

Fractured Ballot

Framed through the combined lenses of Thomas Sowell, Noam Chomsky, and Milton Friedman, the 2025 election results reveal a critical misstep rooted not simply in frustration with established elites – as Sowell suggests – but in a profound failure to engage with consequentialist realism. Driven by a potent cocktail of emotional responses and a rejection of pragmatic strategy, voters, according to Chomsky, often prioritized tactical harm-reduction over informed engagement, inadvertently bolstering the very outcome they sought to avoid. Simultaneously, the allure of disruption, as Friedman observed, led many to embrace a boldness that ultimately destabilized established systems, misjudging the unpredictable nature of markets and global forces.  Ultimately, this confluence – an electorate prioritizing feeling over analysis, idealism over strategic coalition-building, and disruptive impulses over cautious assessment – created a fertile ground for the rise of authoritarian tendencies, demonstrating a dangerous disconnect between expressed desires and the long-term consequences of electing a leader lacking institutional understanding and driven by policies that fundamentally undermined democratic safeguards.