Recent Commentaries

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Don’t Mess with Mama
The streets of Milwaukee can be tough. Fortunately, Mama’s on patrol. Martha Freeman is a 77-year old retired corrections officer who, by day tends to household chores like passing out donated bread to those in need. By night, however, she cruises her neighborhood looking for kids who might be getting into trouble. And she’s packin’… wisdom and kindness. In a...
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December 21, 2015
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The Ethics of Star Wars?
Yes, I questioned that notion too when I came across a link on a web search. However, I discovered something interesting. Steven Greydanus is a film critic for the National Catholic Register, a respected resource I’ve visited many times. Greydanus is also the creator and administrator of DecentFilms.com, “A site of film appreciation, information and criticism informed by Christian faith.”...
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December 18, 2015
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An Antidote to Fear and Hate
In a political season that has seen far too much prejudice, fear and hate, David Swan, a U.S. Army soldier, reminds us all just what is important and why in an open letter he writes to Muslims. In response to a reporter asking why he wrote it, Swan said, “There is so much divisive rhetoric being shouted on social and...
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December 14, 2015
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Line Crossed
What if your neighbors were suspected of being involved in a mass shooting? And after the police and FBI had searched their home, the media were allowed to go through the residence, and among the items broadcast live were photos of you and your family; how would you react? In the aftermath of the San Bernardino shooting rampage, the home...
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December 11, 2015
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American Demagogue
dem•a•gogue: a leader who makes use of popular prejudices and false claims and promises in order to gain power. – Merriam-Webster Every time I post a commentary on Donald Trump, I privately vow no more! And then he says something even more bigoted. The Washington Post: “Trump Shatters Ceiling in Modern Politics.” The Philadelphia Daily News: “The New Furor.” FOX...
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December 9, 2015
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Sorrow and Shame
Every time an attack, like the recent mass shooting in California, occurs too many of us react badly. Paralyzed by fear and anger, we retreat into a moral relativism that is simply breathtaking. It’s become a sad reality that after every such attack, gun sales rise. The working theory is: If I’ve got a gun, I can do something about...
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December 7, 2015
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Harry Reid Knows ‘Dark Money’
Working families can’t compete with billionaires. Let’s stop the flood of dark money into our political system and do it now.   – Harry Reid, Senate Democratic Leader Dark money is the term used to describe funds given to non-profit organizations that are permitted, by law, to receive unlimited donations from individuals, unions, and corporations. These non-profits, typically 501(c)(4) and (c)(6)s,...
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December 2, 2015
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Not a Good Day for States
The supreme quality for leadership is unquestionably integrity. Without it, no real success is possible, no matter whether it is on a section gang, a football field, in an army, or in an office. – Dwight D. Eisenhower “In 2013, the director of the Idaho Racing Commission told state lawmakers that controversial ‘instant racing’ machines could help save the state’s...
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November 30, 2015
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The Turkeys are Back!
With an avalanche of serious stories occupying most of the news cycle, I’ve decided to go light. And what better way to celebrate turkey day than to reconnect with The Ethics Stupid Turkey Awards – honoring the strange, outlandish and just plain, well… you decide. * (Still honorable mention) – ‘Rudy’ (the tweeting) parrot: Still alive and kickin’! …and feistier...
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November 26, 2015
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Fear and Extremism
Since the attacks in Paris more than a week ago, so much of the political talk has centered on radical Muslims. (Although some leave the word “radical” out of the discussion). Before a packed crowd on Saturday (Nov. 21) in Birmingham, Alabama, GOP presidential frontrunner Donald Trump said, “I want surveillance of certain mosques, O.K.?” Earlier in the week, in...
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November 23, 2015

Read Some of the Most Recent Articles
The Latest... And Often Greatest
When Political Identity Replaces Ethical Judgment
The political and cultural landscape has become a minefield of conflicting beliefs, many now rooted less in public policy than in personal identity. One of...
Principles Matter.
A few nights ago, I was watching The Way We Were, a film I’ve seen more times than I can count. This time, a single...
All the President’s Men 2.0
“Politics had infiltrated every corner of government—a strong-arm takeover of the agencies by the Nixon White House.” —Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein, All the President’s...
The Threat to November Is Already Here
“Cunning, ambitious, and unprincipled men will be enabled to subvert the power of the people and to usurp for themselves the reins of government.”—George Washington’s...
Jon Ossoff and the Conscience of Atticus Finch
I’ve written about Georgia Senator Jon Ossoff before, but after watching his questioning of Jay Clayton, President Trump’s nominee for director of national intelligence (DNI),...
Hearts and Minds
There’s a moment in Cool Hand Luke when Luke, played by Paul Newman, is returned to a prison camp after escaping. Determined to break his...