In what is becoming routine, Donald Trump issued another pardon. This time to “two Oregon cattle ranchers,” The New York Times reports (July 10), “who had been serving out five-year sentences for arson on federal land — punishments that inspired the armed occupation of a wildlife refuge in 2016 and brought widespread attention to anger over federal land management in...

Richard Painter served for two years as George W. Bush’s ethics counsel. Since Donald Trump took office however, he’s frequently spoken out about Trump’s ethical lapses on cable news shows. Painter, along with Norm Eisen, Obama’s ethics counsel, have made clear that this president is perhaps the most ethically conflicted of the past 100 years. Last Sunday’s (July 1), New...

“Faster than a speeding bullet. More powerful than a locomotive. Able to leap tall buildings in a single bound.” “Look! Up in the sky! It’s a bird.”  “It’s a plane.”  “It’s Superman!”  “Yes, it’s Superman, strange visitor from another planet who came to earth with powers and abilities far beyond those of mortal men. Superman,  » Read more about: Truth, Justice...

Twelve days ago (June 15), I wrote “Without standards of courtesy, civility and decency, everyone is free to engage in a bickering brawl of incivility that only continues the cycle.” Last week confirmed that we are officially in the brawl. Most Americans are good, decent, honest people. They’re respectful and courteous. If they make a mistake, they usually make amends....

Approximately 20 minutes into a one-on-one conversation with PBS NewsHour anchor Judy Woodruff last month, CBS 60 Minutes correspondent Lesley Stahl revealed something that Donald Trump told her in a pre-interview conversation. “At one point,” Stahl said, “he started to attack the press, and I said, ‘You know, that is getting tired. Why are you doing this? … You’ve won...

Every week some new Trump controversy sucks the oxygen out of the news cycle, and humanity. Even TIME magazine can’t keep up. This week’s cover story on the Kim-Trump summit… sorry TIME, old news! Every time we think Trump hits a low point, he invents a new one. Remember last summer’s Charlottesville? “You had a group on one side that...

Last Sunday’s Tony Awards show was debased by displays of indecency and disrespect. Actor Robert De Niro walked on stage to introduce Bruce Springsteen, but the first words out of his mouth were, “I’m going to say one thing: F#$k Trump!” The disrespect quickly followed when much of the 6,000-seat audience at Radio City Music Hall stood and cheered De...

Apologies for the note of cynicism, but at the press conference held shortly after President Trump signed a piece of paper proclaiming, “a message of peace,” I couldn’t help but be reminded of another piece of paper and message. After meeting with Adolph Hitler, Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain arrived back in England on September 30, 1938 and proclaimed: “This morning,...

Today, the news cycle is likely to be consumed by the summit meeting between President Trump and North Korea’s Kim Jung-un. To regular visitors to this site, you might be surprised to hear me say that I’m hoping things go well for both sides, truly. But, while Trump’s “crazy man” gambit may pay off, this commentary is about what Trump,...

On Tuesday’s Late Show with Stephen Colbert, Bill Clinton tried to explain his fumbled apology to Monica Lewinsky in response to a question by an NBC reporter the previous day. Colbert offers Clinton a “do-over.” “Here’s what I want to say: It wasn’t my finest hour, but the important thing is, that was a very painful thing, 20 years ago,...