Recent Commentaries

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Searching for Trust
Ethics scandals continue to make the news. “California City Officials Arrested in Salary Scandal” (Sept. 21); “Clemens Lied About Doping, Indictment Charges” (Aug. 19); “P.R. Missteps Fueled Fiascos at BP, Toyota and Goldman,” (Aug. 22) Are companies paying attention to headlines, and are they making any attempt to reinforce the moral conscience of their own organizations?  » Read more about: Searching...
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September 22, 2010
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Pants-Gate
  This just may be the most explosive story of the last… 8 minutes! Men, right now, as I write this, my pants, you’re pants could be lying to you! “Come on, Jim. You’ve lost it, this time!” That’s right. You heard me correctly. You’re favorite ol’ blue jeans, Dockers, Calvin Kleins and others could very well be brought up on ethics charges.  » Read more about:...
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September 20, 2010
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The Fake
Cindy Boren’s sports column in Thursday’s Washington Postcaught my attention.  She begins by giving us a refresher from the now famous Seinfeld episode where Elaine makes an unexpected confession to Jerry. (Go ahead, take a look. I’ll wait.) Boren’s column concerned Yankee shortstop Derek Jeter who – judging by the photo – was hit by a pitch from a Tampa Baypitcher in Wednesday’s game.  » Read...
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September 17, 2010
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On The D-List
Ann Coulter never met an incongruity or contradiction she didn’t embrace. In her 2002 book Slander, the conservative commentator rails against The New York Times for its misinformation and wanton liberal bias on 198 of the book’s 261 pages. “The Times regularly interprets standard Republican positions as fanatical, religiously based racist hate crimes,” Coulter writes. But take a close look at the top of the...
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September 15, 2010
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Let’s Be Honest – Stupid is as Stupid Says Edition
Share this… Facebook Pinterest Twitter Linkedin  » Read more about: Let’s Be Honest – Stupid is as Stupid Says Edition  »...
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September 14, 2010
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Say it Ain’t So, Norm!
I like this guy. Alright, I’m not much of a groupie, but… if I were ever invited to The White House, the person I’d most like to meet would beNORM! “It’s a dog-eat-dog world and I’m wearing milk bone underwear.” No, not that Norm, but I have no doubt that Norm Eisen, President Obama’s “ethics czar,” probably feels that way most days.  » Read more...
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September 13, 2010
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So, What’s the Answer?
Everyone has weighed-in on the proposed Park 51 Islamic Cultural Center to be built two blocks from the site known as “Ground Zero” in New York. Local and national officials, pundits, and the fringe are having a go at what is, at its heart, a fundamental ethical issue. But it’s also an emotional issue and there are no easy answers. Two of...
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September 10, 2010
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“I Have a Big, Fat Mouth”
That’s how Glenn Beck described himself on Fox and Friends (Aug. 29) in his kind-of, sort-of take-back of calling President Obama “a racist,” with “a deep-seated hatred for white people,” on that same program last year. Beck’s trenchant self-analysis comes more than a year later and a day after his evangelistic “Restoring Honor” revival on the steps of the Lincoln...
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September 8, 2010
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America’s Next Buffoon
“Okay, America, are you ready for the results?” (Audience cheers.) Host: “The votes have been tallied and we are about to reveal the winner, but first… the top three finalists for… (Music builds)… America’s Next BUFFOON! “Okay, let’s get to it. “Finalist number one: Once a battle-ax wielding action star, now Bad A#$ extraordinaire. Give it up for Mel ‘uses-cell-phone-as-lethal-weapon’ Gibson.” (Audience roars.)...
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September 6, 2010
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Jim’s on Hiatus
Okay, that’s really a fancy way of saying that I’m going on vacation. Actually, I’m not going much of anywhere. What I will be doing is spending a lot more time, reading, thinking, and writing. I need some time away from a deadline to be able to step back and get some perspective. Looking at this year’s archive, here are a few...
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August 2, 2010

Read Some of the Most Recent Articles
The Latest... And Often Greatest
It Was Important Then. It is Important Today
Freedom of speech in America is under attack, not only when people are denied the right to speak, but when lies, intimidation and the deliberate...
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),...