Recent Commentaries

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Matter of Principle; Cost of Loyalty
“Common sense is not so common.” – Voltaire “I think we’ve made our case,” White House counsel Pat Cipollone said. “All you need in this case is the Constitution and your common sense.” The case before the Senate is about Principle vs. Loyalty; the principles of honesty and responsibility, and the necessary moral courage to stand up for those principles...
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January 30, 2020
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Who Will Stand Up for Truth?
“As long as the world shall last there will be wrongs, and if no man objected and no man rebelled, those wrongs would last forever.” – Clarence Darrow This is a case about truth and lies; right and wrong. At the conclusion of the White House defense team’s arguments on behalf of President Trump, the revelations by former National Security...
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January 29, 2020
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Now We Know
After all the denials and a White House dream team of TV star lawyers who have stated in their opening arguments on Saturday that President Trump’s purpose in withholding aid to Ukraine had not been conditioned on an investigation into former Vice-President Joe Biden, his son Hunter and other Democrats, The New York Times reports (Jan. 26) that the president...
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January 27, 2020
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Interview with U.S. Congressman Salud Carbajal – Part II
Yesterday, I posted the first of a two-part interview, conducted on January 3, with U.S. Rep. (D) Salud Carbajal who represents California’s 24th District. Along with his committee assignments in congress, Carbajal is part of another vital group in our nation’s capital. You’re part of the Problem Solvers Caucus, a group of bipartisan members who are committed to working together...
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January 24, 2020
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Interview with U.S. Congressman Salud Carbajal
U.S. Representative Salud Carbajal (D) represents California’s 24th District. A former Marine, he currently serves on the House Armed Services Committee, Budget Committee, and Transportation and Infrastructure Committee. Our interview took place on January 3rd. I began by asking about new information regarding the Ukraine incident. New, redacted e-mails show that the president asked that aid for Ukraine – voted...
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January 23, 2020
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Sign of the Times
I beg your indulgence. Due to my watching the opening impeachment arguments in the Senate — to be used in a future commentary — I am postponing my interview with a U.S. congressman until Thursday. Discussing sign stealing in college football, Miami University coach Chuck Martin said, “ ‘I don’t like stealing signals being part of the game, but it...
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January 20, 2020
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The Most Important Question Before Senators
As I write this commentary, I’m watching Chief Justice John Roberts ask all 100 Senators to stand and take a special oath for the Impeachment Trial of President Trump. “Do you solemnly swear that in all things appertaining to the trial of the impeachment of Donald John Trump, president of the United States, now pending, you will do impartial justice according...
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January 17, 2020
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The Devil and Mitch McConnell
(With apologies to Stephen Vincent Benét) It’s a story they tell about a land that occupied the smallest place in a once powerful nation. Now, all that power was concentrated in one spot and one group whose fear of losing their authority was so great that they succumbed to the most corrupt individual between heaven and earth. So powerful, they...
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January 15, 2020
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Two Presidents on the Brink of War
“Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.”   — George Santayana, Spanish philosopher At the most critical juncture of the Cuban Missile Crisis, President Kennedy was facing the very real possibility of nuclear war with Russia. In a speech to the American people, Kennedy details the crisis and expresses his desire for full and complete denuclearization....
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January 13, 2020
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A Little Compassion; a Lot of Joy
Note: Will return on Monday with an analysis of the U.S./Iran crisis. Eleven-year old Ruby Chitsey was not like most sixth graders who were into sports and pageantry. “If you don’t do those things in rural Arkansas,” Ruby’s mother, Amanda Chitsey said, “you are really left out.” However, Ruby developed another interest. Amanda works as a nurse in Harrison, Arkansas....
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January 8, 2020