Recent Commentaries

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Salud Carbajal: One of the Problem Solvers
A brief conversation with U.S. Representative Salud Carbajal (D-CA-24), led to a 50-minute discussion concerning health care and his participation in the Problem Solvers Caucus. Elected to Congress in 2016, Representative Carbajal previously served three terms as a Santa Barbara County Supervisor and served in the Marine Corps Reserve. He currently sits on the Armed Services and Budget Committees. Our...
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September 18, 2017
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Fighting Hate
Four Red Sox fans were removed from Fenway Park in Boston last night after they unfurled a large banner over the Green Monster which read, “Racism is as American as Baseball.” In an anonymous e-mail statement, one of the protestors wrote: “We are a group of white anti-racist protesters. We want to remind everyone that just as baseball is fundamental...
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September 14, 2017
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Wake Up, America… with Gabe!
I awakened the other day to a message from New Hampshire Technical Institute Professor Stephen Ambra: Hi, Jim — Not sure if you signed up for Gabe’s post…but one of things I look at on a daily basis… I click on the link, and was taken to Wake Up To Politics, sub-head: This Is Your Wake-Up Call. And the intriguing...
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September 13, 2017
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What is Essential is Invisible
During the month of August, comfortably ensconced in my “cone of silence,” I spent most of the time reading a variety of books. While all of them speak to various ethical values, many of the authors were simply good storytellers. After listening to an interview of former Navy SEAL Robert O’Neill, I became interested in reading his account of how...
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September 11, 2017
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Hurricane Irma v. Hurricane Blowhard
“…I’ve gotta be very careful here because I am not a meteorologist… not the National Hurricane Center… not a climatologist or meteorologist. All I do is analyze the data that they publish. …when it comes to a hurricane bearing down on South Florida, I’m the go-to guy.” – Rush Limbaugh, Sept. 5, 2017 I’ve gotta be very careful here, because...
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September 8, 2017
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Charlottesville/Hurricane Harvey
In one twenty-one day period, we witnessed the worst and the best this country can demonstrate. August 11, 2017 began as a quiet day in the suburban town of Charlottesville, Virginia, and ended as a violent clash between several hundred Neo-Nazis, White Nationalists, Ku Klux Klan and counter-protestors. During the violence, self-proclaimed white-nationalist James Alex Fields, Jr., drove his car...
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September 6, 2017
Integrity
Before my August recess, I thought I’d leave readers with something more than another commentary on the day’s events. I want to leave you with something to think about, revisit and think again. I’ve been collecting quotes on integrity for some time and these are some of my favorites. So, enjoy and… think. I’ll be back after Labor Day. “Be...
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July 31, 2017
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110 out of 111
There’s a scene early in the film, Jerry Maguire, about a sports agent, that ultimately causes the central character to pivot from sales B.S. to honest concern. It happens when the fast-talking Maguire learns that his hockey-player client is sent to the hospital after yet another punishing concussion. The agent arrives in the room just as the doctor is checking...
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July 28, 2017
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This Country
In a vigorous and powerful speech to the Senate yesterday (July 25), Arizona Senator John McCain wasn’t a Republican or Democrat; he spoke as an American and political figure fitted with the responsibility to do something for “the public good.” He spoke less about the health care debate that brought the Senate to a vote, and more about their lack...
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July 26, 2017
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John McCain
There have been many issues on which I have disagreed with Senator John McCain. However, I respect the Arizona Republican for one simple reason: I trust him; I trust that he acts in the best interests of the country, not his own. Last week, when it was announced that McCain had brain cancer, I was stunned not because such a...
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July 24, 2017

Read Some of the Most Recent Articles
The Latest... And Often Greatest
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),...
Hearts and Minds
There’s a moment in Cool Hand Luke when Luke, played by Paul Newman, is returned to a prison camp after escaping. Determined to break his...