Colman McCarthy, peace activist, and former columnist for the Washington Post wrote a provocative Op-ed (Sanctimony’s Turn at Bat) on Roger Clemens’ appearance last February before a House Committee.  The purpose of the hearing was to discuss Clemens alleged steroid use as outlined in the Mitchell Report. “This is the second time members of Congress have posed as drug-busters cleaning...

John McCarthy is a former knuckleball pitcher in the Baltimore Orioles organization who, in 1992, started his Home Run Baseball Camp for kids in Washington, DC.  John teaches that“Talent is what you have; effort is what you give,” and there’s no room for drugs in striving to be your best. We had a conversation about baseball’s steroid scandal shortly after the...

“I’m a Congressional Representative who has been accused of using my position to promote business deals in Africa.” ? ? ? “The FBI videotaped me receiving $100,000 in $100 bills in a leather briefcase at the Ritz-Carlton hotel in Arlington, Virginia.” ? ? ? “A subsequent raid on my office by the FBI found $90,000 of the cash in my...

When it comes to corruption, the Four Horsemen of the Ethical Apocalypse remain:  Money, Power, Influence and Arrogance. In a 2006 survey that I conducted with Zogby International and the Center for Cultural Studies and Analysis, Americans have decidedly low levels of trust and confidence in its leadership.  “Most Americans,” the Center says, “have moved beyond thinking of violations of honesty...

Well… maybe with this guy, you could make the case for too much honesty. But the reality is that in the last several years we have seen an unsettling number of ethics scandals.  And every time another indignity is reported, our level of trust and confidence in individuals and institutions declines. In 2006, I wanted to know if these events were...

In his book, “A Higher Standard of Leadership” Keshavan Nair writes, “Today, many people believe that it is not possible to be successful in the world of business and politics and still to maintain one’s integrity – integrity not defined by absence of financial corruption, but by adherence to moral principles in all activities. “The standard of leadership depends not...

Okay class, let’s all bow our heads in a moment of silence for the retirement of Robert Montgomery “Bobby” Knight, “the winningest coach in Division I men’s college basketball.” Moment over. I’m now going to say something that will more than likely be anathema to most college basketball fans on the planet:  I’m glad.  Thank God!  FINALLY!! After years of enduring...

One of the best things about the new HBO mini-series “John Adams” is the humanity the actors bring to their parts. While I was watching I kept thinking,“I’ll bet that’s the way it was.”The second is how the filmmakers allow us to witness the turmoil, much of it gritty, and triumph that ultimately gave birth to the United States. If ever...

Michael Clayton is about a man who’s traded his moral compass for a GPS device fixed on rank and wealth.  That emptiness you see in his eyes comes from the thousand-and-one compromises he’s made in his life until he wakes up one evening to a crisis of conscience. The crisis comes in the form of law partner and friend Arthur...

The bloggers, the media and everyone in-between are having a field day over the recent sex-scandal involving, soon-to-be Ex-Governor, Eliot Spitzer. Cable news channels are bursting with lawyers, politicians, and pundits as well as former targets of Spitzer’s legal wrath – all weighing in with their own views and analysis, most of which are negative.  And there’s a part of...