Recent Commentaries

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Enduring Leadership
In 1914, so the tale goes, the following ad was placed in a London newspaper: “Men Wanted for Hazardous Journey. Small Wages, bitter cold, long months of complete darkness, constant danger, safe return doubtful. Honour and recognition in case of success.” It’s still not known whether those words were truly those of Irish explorer Sir Ernest Shackleton or just another...
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September 19, 2008
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The Devil and MSNBC
“MSNBC is behaving like a heroin addict.  They’re living from fix to fix and swearing they’ll go into rehab the next week.” There’s too much commentary disguised as news, these days. According to a New York Times article (Sept. 8), “In January, [Keith] Olbermann [host of MSNBC’s ‘Countdown’] and [Chris] Matthews, the host of ‘Hardball,’ began co-anchoring primary night coverage. ...
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September 17, 2008
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Is Good Ethics Good Business?
Amid the anxiety and chaos on Wall Street today, I thought it would be interesting to revisit an old question. The following comes from a radio commentary delivered in October, 1997 by my own ethics teacher, Michael Josephson.   I believe it’s a message we need to remember in these difficult times. “‘Good ethics is good business.’  ‘Honesty is the best...
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September 15, 2008
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September 2008 Ethical Hero – Judith Meisel
Judith Meisel is a Holocaust survivor of the Kovno Ghetto in Lithuania and the Stutthof Concentration Camp in Poland. Her experiences during and after World War II inspired a life-long crusade against bigotry and racism.  After witnessing the race riots of 1963, Judy has pursued and persevered in a campaign to speak out against racism and the need for greater...
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September 13, 2008
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Mr. Smith Goes on the Take
No, not that Mr. Smith, the other one, Gregory W. Smith, the former program director of the “royalty-in-kind program” at the Interior Department.   Gregory Smith is one of 19 officials (about one-third of the program’s staff) who accepted gratuities from oil companies including Chevron and Shell, while conducting official business. As the New York Times reported (Sept. 11), the Interior “…department’s...
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September 12, 2008
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Rules
Will Rogers was America’s first, genuine, political humorist.  Bill Maher is Will Rogers on Red Bull. Maher’s HBO show “Real Time,” skewers all kinds of political, religious and pop culture absurdity.  One segment, entitled “New Rules,” demonstrates the need for all of us to stop taking ourselves so seriously and change some of our latest, ridiculous conventions.  Example – “New...
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September 10, 2008
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Mr. Manners Says…
In this e-mailing, BlackBerry, instant-messaging world, we seem to have forgotten something – the well-mannered tradition of a “Thank You” note. “We just want to thank you from the bottom of our hearts…”  “As always, thanks so much for your hospitality and friendship…”  “Thanks for having us over…” While the first two notes came from out-of-town friends, the last note...
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September 8, 2008
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Cynicism
“Abramoff Sentenced to 4 Years in Prison for Corruption” “Two Brokers Accused of Securities Fraud” “Former KBR Executive Pleads Guilty to Bribery” “Detroit Mayor Pleads Guilty, Resigns” All four of these stories appeared in yesterday’s (Sept. 4) Washington Post and New York Times. Whenever we read stories like these, it’s hard to avoid becoming cynical.  And whenever stories like these...
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September 5, 2008
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The Way it Should Be
“Let me be as clear as possible.  I have said before and I will repeat again, I think people’s families are off-limits, and people’s children are especially off-limits.  This shouldn’t be part of our politics.”  That’s what Senator Barack Obama said to a group of reporters when asked for his reaction to the news that the 17-year-old, unmarried daughter of vice-presidential candidate...
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September 3, 2008
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The Good, the Bad and the Ridiculous
On the last night of the Democratic convention, before Senator Barack Obama gave his acceptance speech as the Party’s nominee for president, I saw something that I have never before seen in a political ad. Senator John McCain looks into the camera and congratulates his opponent, Senator Obama, on his achievements.  In thirty seconds I couldn’t help but be touched by...
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September 1, 2008

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