Last Friday, I offered an ethical dilemma. I asked readers to imagine sitting on the California parole board to decide whether to grant convicted murderer Susan Atkins “compassionate release” based on her terminally ill condition. I asked readers to offer their thoughts before submitting my own conclusions.  One comment that repeatedly came up in conversations with friends, “How can you show...

In words that I can only describe as abominably ignorant, a number of state legislators and others have said the following regarding President Obama’s planned address to school children regarding education and achievement via the Internet Tuesday. Senator and candidate for governor of Oklahoma Randy Brogdon (R-Owasso): “President Obama has shown time and time again that he has little regard...

You sit on the California state parole board looking into a request to release Susan Atkins, the terminally ill prisoner convicted of participating in the killing of actress Sharon Tate and four others in 1969. At the parole hearing, you listen to family members of the victims. Debra Tate, sister of the actress: “I will pray for her soul when...

This past summer, social interaction has been a disgrace. I’m talking about the lack of civility brought about by the health care debate.  Among the most demonstrative was an interchange between Massachusetts Congressman Barney Frank and a constituent. Holding up a picture of President Obama altered to look like Adolph Hitler, a woman asks, “Why are you supporting this Nazi...

Most people may not recognize Carl Muscarello by name but are probably familiar with his picture. He’s the sailor kissing the nurse in Alfred Eisenstaedt’s iconic, 1945 photograph on V-J Day in Times Square. However, Carl describes himself as, “an Italian-American kid from Brooklyn, New York who has been fortunate in that happiness in my life has come from my...

It’s curious to reflect on three moments in my life that are marked by the same question: Where were you when Kennedy died? As a high school freshman in New York, I was in the middle of learning some important but long forgotten piece of Algebra when President John F. Kennedy was assassinated.  Our teacher, Mr. Freeman, was called out of...

“It’s wrong, man… I feel tremendous hurt behind what happened… I should’ve took the initiative to stop it all… I didn’t step up. I wasn’t a leader.” That was former Atlanta Falcons football star Michael Vick on 60 Minutes apologizing for participating in a dog fighting operation on his property. “There is not a day that goes by that I...

Here’s the scenario: You’re an executive at a large, retail store. Company policy clearly tells employees that if they witness any shoplifting, they are not to go after the suspected thief outside the store. Word comes of a shoplifting event at one of your stores. Two employees wrestle the suspect to the ground outside the store, but in spite of their best...

Former Washington Post columnist, teacher and good friend Colman McCarthy wrote the following eulogy about his friendship with Eunice Shriver. I thought it was well worth repeating. My friendship with Eunice Kennedy Shriver began in 1966, when I bumped into her — literally — during a pickup basketball game on her backyard court at the Timberlawn estate in Rockville. I had begun...

“The summer of 2009 has not been our finest hour.” So wrote Newsweek editor Jon Meacham (Aug. 24) in response to those individuals who have brought Hitler and Nazism into the debate on health care. There’s political commentary and there’s hate speech and I’m sick and tired of hate speech passing for commentary. Earlier this month, conservative radio talk host Rush Limbaugh...