October 2010

The Juan Williams matter brings up a topic that’s important to explore – the role of an ombudsman.

Alicia Shepard is NPR’s Ombudsman, and according to her bio, “Shepard was appointed… in October 2007. In 2000, NPR was the first U.S. broadcast news organization to … Read More

There’s a very old fable of unknown origin that goes something like this…

A scorpion comes upon a river and asks a friendly frog for a ride to the other side. The frog laughs and says something like, “Are you nuts? You’re a scorpion. You’ll … Read More

It was a story that got very little notice. In fact, I almost overlooked it in a small corner on a back page of The New York Times.

“House Ethics Official Steps Down,” (Oct. 15) the headline reads.  “The staff director and chief counsel … Read More

Angelo Mozilo, U.S. Representative Charlie Rangel, Tiger Woods, Quarterback Brett Favre, Governor Mark Sanford are just a few who have been involved in ethics-related scandals.

“Why do powerful people with so much to lose push so hard to squeeze out a little more gain for … Read More

Once upon a time, in a country wide and beautiful, there was a very audacious and flamboyant financier who liked to wear very nice clothes. (Here he is in his gold tie and pinstripe finery.)

One day, this very daring man saw a need in … Read More

On October 8, 2010, I posted a commentary regarding Snyder v. Phelps, a case currently before the U.S. Supreme Court in which the key question, as outlined by the court, is “Does the First Amendment protect protesters at a funeral from liability for intentionally … Read More