Yesterday, a House panel found New York Democratic Representative Charles Rangel guilty of 11 ethics violations stemming from improper solicitation of fund-raising and failure to accurately report his personal income. After reaching a verdict, the subcommittee now sends the case to the full House ethics committee to determine how the 80-year-old will be disciplined. Punishments range from a formal reprimand...

In the sports film, Blue Chips Pete Bell is a college basketball coach with an abiding integrity for the game he loves and a passion for his student players to succeed in life. But he’s got one problem – losing. For Coach Bell, losing is a four-letter word that he cannot, will not tolerate. Coming off a losing season, he hits the road to...

On the eve of his assassination in 1968, Martin Luther King, Jr. called his mentor Reverend James Lawson “the leading theorist and strategist of nonviolence in the world.” Reverend Lawson is a deeply religious man, who served in prison for being a conscientious objector during the Korean War.  After servicing in prison, he went to India and studied the Gandhian...

Our crack Ethics Stupid field reporter, Jon K, (he’s the one holding the “Impeach Nixon” sign on the far, far right) had his boots on the ground, as well as several sweaters and a big coat, at the Rally to Restore Sanity and/or Fear in Washington, D.C. last month and filed this report. “I got to the Rally at 5:20am and there were probably...

Today is Veteran’s Day, but it also marks the 90th Anniversary of the original name for this holiday, Armistice Day. The day was created to celebrate the war to end all wars, World War I.The Armistice took effect on November 11, 1918 at 11:00 A.M. or at the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month. That date quickly became a...

MSNBC opinionate Keith Olbermann was suspended last week for having violated the political donation provision in the company’s standards by contributing donations totaling $7,200 to three Democratic politicians he had supported on his show. Olbermann returned to his regular Tuesday night slot withoutapologizing to the network. He did, however, offer a written apology to his fans for “having precipitated such anxiety and...

“Sparky”… now that’s a name that could only be tagged to a baseball player, except he didn’t play the game, he managed it. Anderson died last week at 76. “Sparky was, by far, the best manager I ever played for,” saidCincinnati Reds Pete Rose. “He understood people better than anyone I ever met. His players loved him, he loved his players,...

Ethical stories surround us every day. While the media tends to focus on the negative, it’s important to acknowledge the positive. While sitting in a local theater the other night listening to the energetic Disney musical Beauty and the Beast, something jumped out at me; something unexpected. The opening narration lays out the backstory. “…a young prince… spoiled, selfish, and unkind…...

“I still believe that the mildest and most obscure of Americans can be rescued from oblivion by good luck, sudden changes in fortune, sudden encounters with heroes. I believe it because I lived it.” Those words come from Ted Sorensen, advisor, counselor and speechwriter for President John Kennedy.  Sorensen died Sunday at the age of 82. In 1961, I clearly...

It’s Election Day in America, once again… …And while the “nabobs of negativity” have bombarded us with all kinds of factoids, drama and fear, it’s a good time to remind ourselves of just a few of the things that are great about this country. Dinesh D’Souza came to the United States from India, and attended Dartmouth College where he graduated Phi...