To understand the root cause of the scandal at the Internal Revenue Service, context is important. With the Supreme Court’s 2010 decision in Citizens United v. the Federal Election Commission, corporations and non-profits were permitted to contribute to political campaigns. In the case of certain non-profits, they could donate provided they did not contribute more than 49 percent of their...

My friend Walter is a world class World Cup fan! Walter used to play professional soccer for a time and whenever I talk to him lately, all I hear is strategy. “Look at this guy play a wall-pass (a give and go) just to get more time on the ball if he’s being closed down, or can play the ball...

In countless letters to his wife and partner, Abigail, John Adams poured out his heart and his mind. Abigail was not just a sounding board for his political conscience; she was his moral compass in every way. Adams, 90, and Thomas Jefferson 83, while gravely ill, wanted very much to live to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Declaration of...

In a move that surprised many, last week the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office cancelled six federal trademark registrations for the name the Washington Redskins, ruling that the name is “disparaging to Native Americans.” In an story authored by Travis Waldron for ThinkProgress, a liberal blog (June 18), the Patent board said, “We decide, based on the evidence properly before us,...

According to the Center for Public Integrity (June 20), Supreme Court justices averaged $250,000 last year in addition to their courtly salaries: $244,400 for associate justices; $255,500 for the chief justice. “Top earner Justice Antonin Scalia,” the Center writes, “raked in more than $100,000 in book royalties for his 2012 tomeReading Law: Interpretation of Legal Texts and teaching wages from Southern Methodist University,...

There are many issues – ethical and otherwise – that we could be spending more time considering, but… this question caught the attention and response of thousands of New York Times‘ readers, (May 3, 2012). Ariel Kaminer, who writes The Ethicist column in the Sunday New York Times magazine, posed the question – is it ethical to eat meat?, then invited readers to “make,  » Read more...

There’s a moment in the long and distinguished career of Walter Cronkite that remains indelible in the minds of Baby Boomers. On November 22, 1963, in the midst of newsroom chaos, the CBS News anchor had interrupted a daytime soap opera with a special bulletin that shots had been fired at President John Kennedy in a downtown Dallas motorcade. In...

From Martha and Macy’s to mayhem in Brazil then back to my favorite CEO, let’s take a look. Nothing to Smile About, Now – Why is Martha smiling? Simple, she was on the stand last year arguing that a deal to sell Martha Stewart branded merchandise at J.C. Penney was perfectly acceptable despite a five year exclusive deal to sell...

Last January General Motors new president Mary Barra released a statement of values entitled, Winning with Integrity, Our Values and Guidelines for Employee Conduct. In the introduction, Barra writes, “During the last few years, we have aggressively pursued a competitive advantage in every aspect of our business. You can see this reflected in our new products, our acquisitions and alliances, our balance sheet...

My trainer Steve and I have a special relationship. I share ethical observations with him and he shares his considerable wisdom with me. I stopped during a session once to point out: “It’s not just what you say, Steve, it’s how supremely confident you are when you say it.” He nonchalantly smiled through his sunglasses, “That’s because you are in the presence...