Like the many millions around the world who tuned in to watch the Oscar telecast (Feb. 26), I was stunned by the final piece of drama that played out on stage. By now, most everyone knows what happened when Warren Beatty and Faye Dunaway presented the award for Best Picture. The audience was squirming in their seats waiting for Beatty...

Over the last several years, I have usually talked about Lincoln on Presidents’ Day. So, here’s to little equal time to our nation’s first president, George Washington. It’s interesting to note that unlike others running for office, Washington never went looking for the job. In fact, in August 1788, he was quite content in the role of retired gentleman farmer...

Heroes are hard to come by. With the death of Lt. General Hal Moore last Friday, the loss is particularly acute given his extraordinary leadership skills. There are two types of heroes, those who demonstrate physical courage in the face of extreme danger, and those who reveal moral courage – the fortitude to stand by your principles no matter the...

From time to time I receive private e-mails from readers who wish to offer opinions without posting them directly to a story. Recently, I was asked why so many of my commentaries over the past year have veered from ethics into politics. The simple reality is that politics and ethics are constantly intersecting. When it comes to issues of accountability...

Last August, the world was shocked and outraged at the tragedy that has become Alepo, Syria. However, it was the image of a dust and blood-covered Syrian boy, Omran Daqneesh, that crystallized the true cost of war. Although Omran’s older brother Ali died of his injuries, the rest of his immediate family survived an airstrike that turned their home and...

I have written about Republican Presidential Nominee Donald J. Trump for more than a year now. Why? His disdain for people and institutions is beyond anything ever seen before. As CEO of Conspiracy Central, his statements range from the bizarre, “…what was [Ted Cruz’s father] doing with Lee Harvey Oswald shortly before the… shooting?,” to the bizarrer: “The concept of...

These are, without a doubt, the Holy Grail of cultural and political questions of the moment: How does Trump appeal to his supporters? Why do supporters continue to stand by him when he lies – even when confronted with the facts – more than any candidate in modern history? What is it about this man that continues to attract both...

Citizen Kane follows the life and political campaign of an arrogant, populist millionaire who runs for governor on promises to help the “the working man,” only to be defeated by a sex scandal. Is art reflecting reality or is reality affecting art? Director Orson Wells took his inspiration from real-life newspaper publisher and “yellow journalist” William Randolph Hearst. Like his...

The political earth has had a few seismic shifts over the past 7 days. First, the discovery of a video exposing Donald Trump’s penchant for trash-talking women, and the requisite 24/7 news coverage of that; followed by the Sunday debate where Trump paced around behind Hillary Clinton like an alpha-male lion. The week ended with another round of Republicans abandoning...

John Zogby is a pollster and author who has the ability to write analysis in a way most of us can understand. Recently, John sent me the following political conundrum: In the election of 2016, the candidates for President are: Republican, The Emperor Nero of Rome, narcissistic, extravagant, and tyrannical. He felt the burn almost 2000 years ago. Democrat, Catherine...