Well, boys and girls, here we are – the first of three presidential debates which may decide who goes to the White House: the Reality Star, or the Politically Calculated Czar; the extremely reckless, or “extremely careless.” I was previously invited to attend a screening of The Man with the Golden Arm, part of an Elmer Bernstein film series honoring...

The Gallup organization has been taking the pulse of American’s attitudes regarding social, economic and political issues since 1935. Compromise, trust and transparency – three issues voters say they care about when it comes to the candidates. Compromise – In a poll taken earlier this month (Sept. 7-11) Editor-in-Chief Frank Newport for Gallup Poll writes, “Americans continue to believe that...

After five long years (Remember, Trump was the first to announce his own investigation into Obama’s citizenship status in 2011: “I have people that have been studying it and they cannot believe what they’re finding.” ), Donald J. Trump finally announced, (Sept. 16): “President Barack Obama was born in the United States, period.” It doesn’t matter to Trump (or sadly, many...

The publication of Colin Powell’s private opinions of both Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump – obtained from hacked e-mails from the former secretary of state’s private e-mail account – is only the latest example of the thorny ethical issues that journalists and media organizations must navigate. In this new universe, everything that’s been hacked appears to be fair game after...

The Will Smith movie, Concussion, is about the brutal reality the National Football League continues to ignore. It’s also the story of one man’s ethically courageous attempt to bring critical attention to what he uncovered and what is now called C.T.E. – Chronic traumatic encephalopathy. Boston University’s C.T.E. Center defines the condition as “a progressive degenerative disease of the brain...

You must not lose faith in humanity. Humanity is an ocean; if a few drops of the ocean are dirty, the ocean does not become dirty.  – Mahatma Gandhi Olympic athletes train for years for events that, in some cases, are over in a matter of minutes. New Zealand’s Nikki Jane Hamblin is a middle distance runner who specializes in...

Facts are stubborn things; and whatever may be our wishes, our inclinations, or dictates of our passions, they cannot alter the state of facts and evidence.                   – John Adams, in his defense of British soldiers wrongly accused of the so-called “Boston Massacre.” In my 2011 e-book, Shameless, I wrote that supporters of political critics Rush Limbaugh, Ann Coulter and Glenn...

“What Kaepernick did was totally uncalled for and disrespectful, but America gives him the right to do it. I am tired of all of these multi million-dollar athletes and celebrities who do nothing to improve conditions putting down the country that has given them the opportunity to get to where they are.” “Congratulations to Colin Kaepernick for making a statement...

“When once the forms of civility are violated, there remains little hope of return to kindness and decency.”      – British author Samuel Johnson While there are benefits to political correctness in the context of respect and civility, it does go too far when it stifles free speech. In a letter to incoming students at the University of Chicago, John...

“Vulgarity? Mr Carson wouldn’t be vulgar if they put him on a seaside postcard.”   – Mrs. Patmore to Mrs. Hughes regarding the propriety of Downton Abbey’s head butler Donald Trump has consistently reminded us all that we are too politically correct. During the first Republican Debate, FOX News anchor Megyn Kelly called Trump out for his consistently degrading language. Kelly:...