“I believe that this nation should commit itself to achieving the goal, before this decade is out, of landing a man on the moon and returning him safely to earth.” Kennedy said it, and seven daring young, test pilots fulfilled one of America’s singular achievements. Heroes always seem to be in short supply. Scott Carpenter, the second American to orbit...

In 1898, an exchange took place between Frederic Remington and his boss, William Randolph Hearst. Hearst had sent the artist to Havana to sketch pictures of hostilities purportedly taking place in Cuba. Remington wired, “Everything is quiet. No trouble here. There will be no war. I wish to return.” Hearst responded, “You furnish the pictures… I’ll furnish the war.” While...

“I fired him because he wouldn’t respect the authority of the President. I didn’t fire him because he was a dumb son of a bitch, although he was, but that’s not against the law for generals. If it was, half to three-quarters of them would be in jail.” Harry Truman was well known for telling it like it was regardless...

Okay, boys and girls, it’s ethical dilemma time! Last week, two politicians were caught, on an open mic, sharing strategy points. Moments before Senate Minority Leader McConnell was due to be interviewed on MSNBC, this brief conversation occurred with Senator Paul: McConnell (as Paul walks up): I’m all wired-up, here. Paul: I just did CNN, and I just go over and over again,...

John Zogby is a friend and colleague who does a lot of homework when it comes to issues and individuals that matter. Founder of the Zogby Poll, he has accurately predicted several presidential races. His analytical expertise can be found on the opinion pages of The New York Times, Wall Street Journal and Financial Times. However, what I appreciate most about John...

Two households, both alike in dignity,  In fair [Washington], where we lay our scene, From ancient grudge break to new mutiny, Where civil blood makes civil hands unclean.  — William Shakespeare, Romeo and Juliet, prologue They should’ve been happy. After the budget sequestration took effect, which lowers spending by about $1.1 trillion over 8 years,  » Read more about: The New...

“Chemistry is the study of matter,” Breaking Bad’s Walt White says. “But I prefer to see it as the study of change.” AMC cable series Breaking Bad, which ended its five-year run last night, tells the story of disaffected high school chemistry teacher Walter White who, after discovering he has inoperable lung cancer, decides to go into the drug business...

Utah Union High School football Coach Matt Labrum believes “…the most important thing is that we build character.” Labrum backed up that belief with action. Immediately after last Friday’s game, the coach sat his players down in the locker room and told them that after learning of reports that many of them had skipped class, received poor grades and allegedly...

CSI is a CBS-TV crime drama that follows “Crime Scene Investigators” – like William Peterson, Ted Danson, Elizabeth Shue and others – as they solve murders using science and analytical skills. ESI is my own ethical-sense investigative process used in researching and examining stories like the three-part series, Conspiracy Theory. (Think of me as Ted Danson… with darker hair.) The purpose of...

Early in All the President’s Men – a film that follows Washington Post reporters Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein track down and piece together the 1972 Watergate scandal – there’s a moment where editor Harry Rosenfeld is listening to Woodward read through a list of the five men caught in the break-in at the Watergate complex. When Woodward mentions that one of the...